The Olesian Heir
by mushushy
Summary: The evil king from a kingdom north of Camelot is on the hunt to kill the rightful heir to the throne. Will be a reveal fic.
1. Chapter 1

**The Olesian Heir.**

_Prologue._

_**20 Years ago**__._

_"__Quickly this way. We must flee! The city has been taken." Shouted Sir Liam. He surged forward intercepting the two mercenaries preparing to attack the group from the front while the dethroned king protected the rear from the other mercenaries attacking from there. The ring of swords echoed around the city streets as the fighting continued but the mercenaries kept coming._

_Suddenly the king cried out as the attacker's sword pierced his shoulder and down he went. The queen panicking took up one of the slain attacker's sword and rushed forwards to her fallen king stabbing the enemy in the neck as she went. As the final enemy fell Sir Liam ran towards the couple ripping the bottom of his tunic when he reached them._

_"__Here, rap that around the shoulder to stop the bleeding. Hurry there is very little time. They almost have full control of the city." Sir Liam said. "Thanks." the Queen replied as Sir Liam handed the torn up material to her. Wrapping the material carefully but firmly around the wound, the Queen looked up to Sir Liam saying "He's lost a bit of blood, we must seek a healer." "There are none that I trust more than your brother." He answered. "But that's almost 4 days away on horseback! It would be longer if we have to walk!" The Queen shouted. "I know." He replied grimly._

_"__We must get to the clearing in the woods and then I can call Kilgharrah to fly us to Camelot." The king said with gritted teeth. "Sire, you know that King Uther has no love for the dragons. If he catches you it will be the death of the dragon lords!" Sir Liam protested. "Then we must not get captured then." He replied stubbornly._

_"__Whatever the decision is we must leave before they find us. Can you stand my love? " The queen asked holding out her hand to him. The king nodded his head and grasped he hand firmly, grunting in pain as he stood. Sir Liam went first sword at the ready for any potential threats that maybe ahead. It felt like an eternity later when they reached the city gate bordering on the forest. _

_Checking to see if the coast was clear Sir Liam noticed no one so he beckoned to them to come. The two huddled figures hurried towards him. The screams of the entire city rang out as the battle for the city continued, but it was a lost cause. So the royals fled with their most trusted knight into the sanctuary of the dark forest. That would be the last time they saw their beloved city._

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**AN: This is my first story for fanfiction, so please tell me what you think. Enjoy!**

**Mushushy.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine, only Sir Liam.****Chapter 1**

**AN: This is set between 4 x 10 and 4 x 12. Any thoughts are in Italics. **

**Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot last time. I do not own anything belonging to Merlin and the BBC. I do own Sir Liam though.**

**Present Time.**

"MERLIN!" Roared through the castle as king Arthur stormed his way towards the physician's quarters with a look of thunder on his face. Nobody dared to get in his way for fear that they would be the target of the rage themselves. The only time the people of Camelot saw the king this angry was when the future queen Guinevere was banished. Now that she was crowned Queen, things had gone back to the way they were before her banishment, meaning that the king still had his occasional moments of rage.

The Doors to the physician's cambers burst open slamming against the opposite wall with a BANG as Arthur charged his way inside. "MERLIN! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING SENDING GEROGE TO COVER FOR YOU WHILE YOU SLACK OFF. YOU BETTER NOT BEEEN IN THE TAVEN _AGAIN_ DO YOU HEAR! YOU KNOW THAT I CAN NOT STAND H… Merlin? Merlin are you here?" he ranted quieting down once he realize his manservant wasn't there and the room was completely empty.

_Great, that just great_. He thought to himself. Now he will have to put up with George for the day. _When I get my hands on Merlin there will be hell to pay! I mean it's not hard to turn up on time and do all the chores I give him. He should be honoured that It's him._

He exited the chamber only to run into Sir Gwaine.

"Ahhhh Princess, how are you this fine morning?" Sir Gwaine smirked.

"Sir Gwaine, how many times do I have to say that I'm king now, so stop calling me a princess!" Arthur said sounding annoyed.

"At less once more Sire." The mocking tone in his voice clearly evident.

"You're just as bad as Merlin, you know that. But at less you are here instead of slaking off in the tavern right now unlike that good for nothing manservant of mine." Arthur muttered.

"HAHAHAHAHA Merlin in the tavern? You must be joshing me right? I mean no matter how many times I have tried to drag Merlin to the tavern he always politely declines. Never once have I managed to, unless coming to drag my drunken self home at night counts."

"Are you sure? Because every time Merlin is missing for days on end I ask Gaius and he tells me that his in the tavern." Arthur said confused.

"I'm pretty sure he's not always in the tavern or I would have run in to him before now." Gwaine replied.

"Then where the hell is he all the time?" questioned Arthur.

"That Sire, would be a question that only Merlin can answer."

"Once I find him I'm going to get some bloody answers." Arthur growled.

"SIRE" A voice echoing through the hallway belonged to none other than his uncle. The king and his knight turned to see Lord Agravaine strutting towards him looking flustered. "Ahhh there you are. I have been looking everywhere for you. The council is about to start." He said when he got closer towards them.

"Sorry uncle I got side tracked looking for my useless manservant. He seems to be missing _again_."

"If he is not properly attending you sire, then maybe I can help you find a replacement. How about that respectful lad named George?" He added slyly.

"NO! That's quite alright." Arthur said shuddering at the thought of have to deal with George on a daily bases. The man would not stop talking or making jokes about _Brass_ of all things. "I'll be at the meeting in a few minutes." He said dismissively.

Lord Agravaine bowed saying "Yes Sire." Then turned on his heels and walked the other way back towards the council chambers.

"Gwaine."

"Yes Princess?" asked Gwaine smiling. Electing another groan from Arthur.

"I want you to go find Merlin for me and drag him back here."

"Yes sire." said Gwaine bowing as he turned to depart.

Sighing King Arthur turned towards the council chambers and started off. _Hopefully I won't run into George for a few hours. _Arthur turned the corner seeing the council chambers ahead with a couple of guards posted by the doors. _Almost home free_. Or so he thought.

"Good morning again sire. I have washed your clothes, cleaned your room, washed and polished the floor, mucked out the stables, polished your armour and your sword, mended your clothes, walked the dogs, polished and shone your boots. Was there any other chores for me sire?" George said with the polite quiet voice of his making the king jump and turn to face him.

Arthur just stared at him thinking that George couldn't be human. He only gave the chores to him about 3 hours ago, right before he left to try and find Merlin._ Hell Merlin would take the whole day to do that amount of chores._

"You finished all of them?" he asked.

"Yes sire" George said with a bow.

"That's umm…. good… ummm. Oh I forgot don't forget to polish all of the armies boots." Arthur said with a smug look on his face. _That might keep him busy for a while_.

"Yes sire" George said. Then he bowed and left leaving Arthur in front of the council chamber doors. Sighing Arthur motioned to the guards and they opened the door. _Let's get this over with so I can shout at Merlin._

4 hours later the meeting had ended with no sign of either Gwaine or Merlin. _This could be very bad. I really hope Merlin hasn't managed to drag Gwaine into a drinking game or something._ Arthur thought. He didn't have time to ponder this as a voice shout out his name. Stopping he turned and saw Gwaine coming his way. He also saw that there was no sign of Merlin following.

Frowning he asked "Where the hell have you been?"

"Arthur its Merlin." Gwaine said softly.

All Arthur could think was that something bad had happened to his friend.

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**AN: CLIFFY HAHAHAHA **

**Will probably update on Australia Day. Sorry it's so but it will pick up later. Thank you to the people that reviewed or pushed favourite or are following this story. Please keep reading and enjoy!**

**Mushushy. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

**AN: Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**There will be minor whumping in this chapter. You have been warned. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam.**

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"Gwaine tell me what's happened?" Arthur demanded striding after Gwaine who was leading him towards the physician's chambers.

"We're not too sure. All I know is that Merlin was injured in the lower town." Gwaine answered.

The two reached the chambers, opening the door the first thing that Arthur saw was a bunch of knights standing around the prone figure on the bed. Percival and Leon turned as the door burst open to revel both Gwaine and Arthur standing there. As they made their way into the room they got a better view of what was wrong with Merlin.

Anyone could see clearly that one of his shoulders was at a weird angle and the blood clotting in his hair was another dead giveaway the fact that Merlin was injured. Unconscious and injured. Percival went back to work cleaning Merlins head wound. Arthur feeling guilty for his previous thoughts toward his injured friend turned to the group of knights.

"What the hell happened?" Arthur questioned his knights.

"Merlin was attacked while down in the lower city sire, he was protecting a bunch of children. It was a sorcerer running rampant. Elyan has gone to set off the warning bells." Leon answered. A few seconds later the bells could be heard tolling loudly throughout the city.

"Where is the sorcerer now?" Arthur frowned.

"He got away sire."

"I need someone to hold him still while I set it back into place." Percival said. Gwaine agreed walking to his place near Merlins head and placing his hands carefully where the other knight indicated. Percival held Merlins injured arm, rotating it in to position and with a pop it was back in its socket.

"Where's Gaius? Is he back yet?"

"He's still in the eastern village of Kanao. The villagers have come down with a sweating sickness. There has been an outbreak in Camelot and other villages. Kanao was the worst affected. Merlin was left here to treat the less serious cases that have sprung up in the lower city. The physician down there asked for his help this morning." Leon answered with a grim look.

Arthur couldn't help feeling guilty at his earlier rage at the fallen manservant. As he moved forward towards merlin he noticed that the ever present neckerchief was missing from his neck. Putting this at the back of his mind he turned back to Leon asking "Was there any other injuries or god forbid fatalities?"

"No deaths and only minor injuries except for Merlin here. There is only minor damage to the lower town. Nothing that can't be fixed."

"When do you think that he will wake?"

"Could be anywhere from an hour till tomorrow sire." Percival answered.

"Call me as soon as he regains consciousness. I will be in the throne room." Arthur called strolling towards the door, Leon following him out.

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**8 hours later.**

A small groan sounded in the silent chamber startling Gwaine and Percival from their vigil of their injured friend on the bed. Percival looked toward Gwaine nodding as he stood up to go and retrieve the King. Another louder groan sounded as Gwaine scooted forwards on his chair leaning in closer.

"Merlin, mate are you with me?" He asked softly.

He got his answer as Merlins eyes opened slightly squinting at the bright room. Merlin mumbled something towards him.

"Say that again mate."

"I said it's too bright in here." Slightly louder this time.

Gwaine moved the candles away from Merlin allowing him to open his eyes wider. Realizing that the sun had set he sat up abruptly causing his head to spin with dizziness. Looking at Gwaine he asked "How long was I out for?"

"About 8 hours. You had the rest of us worried there, especially the princess."

"How bad is it?"

"Well you dislocated your left shoulder, have a really nasty gash on your head, which I think gave you a concussion and you have quite a few bruises to go along with everything else." Gwaine answered.

"No I ment the other people and the town not me." He said.

Sighing Gwaine said "No only you seemed to be majorly injured. There were a few bumps and bruises and there is only minor damage to the city. Arthur has ordered a clean-up and a hunt for the sorcerer that did this."

"Who treated me then?"

"That would be Percival. Apparently he trained with the druids for a while. He would make a great physician don't you think?"

"Yeah Percival did a great job." Merlin agreed probing his head slightly with his hands. He winced slightly as he pressed too hard on a particular sore spot. Gwaine noticed the pain on his face, turning he picked up the vile on the table put aside by Percival for pain relief. Turing back to Merlin he uncorked the vile before handing it him. Taking one look at the contents Merlin grimaced before swallowing it in one big gulp. It left him gaging at the taste when the door opened revealing the relieved King and the rest of the knights. Arthur rearranged his face into a neutral look while approaching Merlin.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I have a bit of a headache and I feel bruised all over especially in the left shoulder but considering what Gwaine told me about my injuries it makes sense." Merlin said.

"I'm glad you're going to be fine. Now can you possibly tell me WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE THINKING TAKING ON A SORCERER ON YOUR OWN?" Arthur Roared.

Merlin shrunk back slightly holding his hands to his ears in the effort to stop Arthur's loud voice from making his headache worse. "I was trying to protect the children from the sorcerer doing them any harm." He muttered with his eyes locked with his feet.

"OH AND YOUR LIFE COUNTS FOR NOTHING?" Arthur continued to shout. "_Mer_lin look at me."

Merlin slowly lifted his face to look at Arthur's eyes, seeing the worry there he shifted uncomfortably as Arthur continued to stare at him.

"I'm glad that you are going to be fine, but you have to be careful Percival said that any harder and your skull could have been cracked open." He said softly. "Now what exactly happened out in the courtyard with the Sorcerer?"

"As you know I went to help out with the sickness in the lower town. I was there for a few hours tending to the sick and went to check the children for any sign that they were ill or not." Merlin said starting to explain his day to Arthur and the other knights.

"I was halfway through checking them when the sorcerer showed up. I didn't see his face because he was wearing a clock and the hood was up covering his face. The next thing I knew he was blowing things up, I tried to move the children out of harm's way but instead I drew his attention towards us. I told the eldest child to take the rest and run for it while I distract him, it must have worked because he started to throw balls of fire that he conjured up at me and any adults he could see. I think I remember being hit by something but I'm not too sure what it was. Then I woke up here with a sore head and body." He finished tiredly, leaving out the part where he used magic.

"I think that Merlin needs to rest sire, he lost quite a bit of blood." Percival said as he noticed Merlin's eyes were starting to droop from tiredness.

"Yeah I don't think he's wrong about that." Merlin agreed as he lay back onto the bed closing his eyes.

He was asleep instantly, leaving the knights sitting around him quietly discussing the clean-up of the rampage. Sighing Arthur looks towards his slumbering manservant thinking that this was not the first time he put his life on the line to save other people. _Maybe I should buy Merlin a gift or something as a reward._ Getting up he turned to the knights gesturing for them to go, leaving Percival and Gwaine to watch over Merlin.

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Manoeuvring through a forest up north was the cloaked sorcerer. He was heading towards the city of Olesia with a smile of triumph on his face and a piece of cloth in his hands. Upon entering the citadel he was met by a troop of guards at the front steps. They arranged themselves so they formed a circle around the clocked figure escorting him towards the throne room were the king was waiting.

Upon entering the throne room the sorcerer could see the king draped in gold and green garments, sitting on the throne. Looking around the sorcerer saw the same two colours decorating the room and the guard's uniforms.

Bowing deeply in front of the king the sorcerer pulled the piece of material from his cloak and presented it to the king. He backed away from it as the king moved forward to pick it up and examine it.

"You found him then?" The king asked turning the martial in his hands.

"Yes sire, He lives in Camelot as serving boy to the king there." The sorcerer said with his head still facing down.

"Hahaha serving boy hahaha. That the best news I've ever heard. My brother must be rolling in his grave. The boy should join him soon enough. Kill him." The king declared.

"Yes sire, it will be done right away." The sorcerer said bowing as he turned to go, leaving the laughing king on his throne.

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**AN: YAY! It's the 26th, So HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!**

**The weirdest thing happened today; I entered a raffle on a whim and one 1st prize. Soooo happy. Anyway will update soon. I'm off to drink and be merry at the foreshore. Please review it means the world to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

**AN: This chapter is the battle in the lower town between Merlin and the sorcerer. It's in Merlin's POV. There will be minor whumping. **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam.**

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Merlin was having one of _those_ days. He kept thinking that someone was watching him but every time he turned to look there was nothing that indicating anyone wishing him harm. He shrugged it off continuing with his potion making. While he was mixing the herbs together he felt the presence once more, again he looked and again he saw nothing.

_It's just me, no one's out to get me_. He thought_. It's just my imagination_. Sighing he heard the clocks bell tolling in the morning hour. _At least I managed to get George to look after Arthur today. Not that it took too much for George to agree, the man seemed to worship the king a little too much, in my opinion and what was up with all the jokes about brass anyway, I mean it not normal . Serves Arthur right for the prank he pulled last week._

Shaking his head at the thought he went back to work grinding the herbs down to the right consistency, he was almost there when he spied a cloaked figure out the corner of his left eye. In a second the figure vanished as if it wasn't there at all. This was starting to freak Merlin out, as far as he knows it isn't a druid trying to get his attention because he would have used the ability to speak mind to mind.

He opened his mind, searching for anyone in range with any form of magic, there was a glimmer of it to the far left of the courtyard but it dissipated as did the presence. Sighing in relief he added the herbs to the liquid already prepared and mixed it till they combined. Merlin poured the liquid into the empty vials set aside, upon completing the task he gathered the vials and headed towards where the physician was treating the sick.

After Merlin handed over the vials the physician indicated to help with keeping the sick cool wet cloth's on their forehead. Two hours later the physician asked him to check the group of children to see if they have any symptoms of the sickness, agreeing he went out into the sunny courtyard to where the children were waiting.

Exiting the physician's house he walked towards the group of children playing around the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. He was spotted by the one of children, who shouted his name alerting all the others that he was there. They came running up to him with smiles on their faces, shouting his name in greeting. He smiled back greeting all of them by their names one by one. A young girl named Samantha tugged on his sleeve to get his attention, as he turned towards her she presented a pretty pale pick flower to him. Taking the flower from Samantha, he thanked her and attached it to the front of his jacket.

Getting down to work he went over every child for any sign of sickness or problems. Merlin was halfway through examining the children when he felt the malicious presence near him. _This is just what I need when there are children about. How am I supposed to protect and fight at the same time? And there are so many people that will see me, maybe I can lure the sorcerer away from them. _He thought.

Turning to the children Merlin asked. "I need to go get some more herbs from the forest could one of you go and tell the physician that there is none left?"

Agreeing as one the children rushed off to do as Merlin asked. _Now hopefully the sorcerer will follow me into the forest and then I can deal with him._ Merlin thought hopefully, just as a flaming ball flew past his head. _Or maybe not_.

Screams echoed though out the courtyard as the sorcerer continued to throw fireballs around at anyone that was near. Spotting the children trapped in the corner with no place to go and the advancing sorcerer. Merlin rushed forward to try and gain the sorcerers attention away from the trapped children. It worked well because the next thing Merlin was dodging and weaving trying to avoid the fireballs and whatever the sorcerer could throw at him.

Letting out little bursts of magic Merlin managed to throw things back or get signs or posts to try and hit the sorcerer all the while hiding the fact that he was doing magic in front of a few people left in the courtyard. That was the good thing about not having to incant a spell. He could see that the sorcerer was beginning to tire. So all he had to do was keep him busy until the guards or knights come along. He could hear the sound of marching boots coming towards his position.

Momentary distracted Merlin missed seeing the flying bucket until it crashed into his chest throwing him back into the wall of a house hitting his head in the process. Gasping in pain he brought his hand up to his head to assess the damage, wincing as he touched the sore spot. Bringing his hand back down he looked at it and noticed it was covered in blood. _Great that's just what I need. _Merlin thought.

Sensing something coming strait towards him he rolled to the right side out of the way of the fireball as it hit the house behind. Dizzily Merlin managed to get to his feet just as a horse and cart came charging towards him panicking at the magic explosion the fireballs have caused. Unable to get out of the way in time he gets clipped in the left shoulder by the cart as it goes by.

Giving a shout of pain Merlin ends up on the ground clutching at his odd angled shoulder. Opening his eyes he sees the sorcerer come stalking towards him with a triumphant look on his face and his hands at the ready.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" The sorcerer said smirking. "Did you think that you could win boy?"

"What's your business here?" Merlin asked, completely ignoring the questions.

"Aren't you the tough guy." The sorcerer cackled lifting Merlin up by his neckerchief to stare into his face as if the find something hidden.

"Tougher then the guy attacking innocent people." Merlin shot back.

The Sorcerer went to say something but was interrupted by the arrival of Sir Leon and the other knights. Griping the neckerchief in both hands he ripped it off of Merlins neck, slamming his head back down on the stone street with force.

Gasping in pain Merlin clung to consciousness long enough to see the whirlwind exit of the sorcerer and the knights gathering around him shouting his name, but it was all in vain as he fell in to total blackness of unconsciousness.

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**AN: Sorry it took so long, I've been busy with parties and what not, plus it has been too hot to write anything without my laptop dying on me. I've also been worrying for my relative's in Queensland's flooding. Anyway that my ranting finished. See you next time. Please review.**

**Mushushy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

**AN: Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this. And a special thankyou to Aerist for reviewing to every chapter posted so far. Read and Enjoy! (Then Review) :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam.**

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As Arthur slowly woke up the next morning he became aware that sunlight was streaming in through the widows and the table next to him was covered in food and drinks. _No this isn't right. Where is the loud crashing that usually woke him up in the morning or the cheery voice with the inane catchphrases that makes me want to throw things? No, there's only one person that can do this without waking me. Please let it not be George. Please let it not be George._ He pleaded in his thoughts.

"Good Morning Sire. I have polished your armour, sharpened your sword, selected your clothes for the day, it is a slightly warm today, sir. And now, if you would allow me, I would like to serve you breakfast." Said George heading to the table and began piling food on a plate.

_Gaahhh its George. Why does it have to be George?_ Thought Arthur groaning into his hands. Then he remembered what happened in the lower town yesterday with Merlin and the sorcerer. _That's right Merlin's been injured in the attack. _Feeling around on the other side of the bed to wake up Guinevere he noticed that she must have woken up earlier and left, leaving him to deal with George by himself.

"Leave it on the table George, I can get it myself."

"Yes sire." George said with a bow

"Leave me and go walk my dogs." Arthur commanded.

"Yes sir." George said with another bow and left closing the door quietly behind him.

Alone at last with his thoughts, Arthur sighed, thinking of the dilemma of what to get as a reward for Merlin and his heroic act. _There must be something that he needs or wants. Now I just have to figure what it is. Maybe a nice new neckerchief for him, I mean he's always wearing that ratty fraying one made out of itchy cloth. Or a new set of clothes entirely, made out of nicer material worthy of a manservant to the king. _

Finished picking through the mountain of food that George piled on the plate, Arthur got dressed and was heading to the door when someone knocked on it.

"Enter."

In walked Sir Leon with a large stack of tax reports in his hands. Seeing the amount of paperwork in Leon's hands, Arthur groaned. Arthur gestured to the writing desk in the corner of the room he said "Leave it there and I shall complete them this afternoon."

"Yes Sire."

"Have you seen my wife around this morning?" Arthur asked.

"I think I saw Queen Guinevere heading towards the physicians chambers about an hour ago, sire." Leon answered placing the pile of reports on the writing desk.

Nodding his thanks to Leon Arthur exited his chambers in the direction of Gaius's Chambers at a brisk pace hoping to catch her before she left. Passing the many bowing and curtseying servants along the way he finally arrived at his intended destination. Facing the slightly ajar door he could hear voices of his wife and his best friend. He was about to walk in but the next words he heard stopped him in his track.

"I think Arthur would let you go, if you ask nicely." Gwen said softly

"Maybe, but I don't think he could survive without me for a week." Merlin replied

"I'm sure that he would let you if he knew that your mother was ill and you need a break to let your injuries heal. I think that it would be a wonderful idea for you to go. I would love to come with you and visit Hunith but as I'm a queen it's a bit harder to travel with all the duties that I have to perform now. Not that I'm complaining, I would gladly have all these duties if it means being with the man that I love." Gwen said.

Arthur's heart soared at the thought that his wife loved him. He knew this of cause but it was nice to hear the words said out loud. His mouth dropped fully open at the next thing that his wife said.

"I still haven't told Arthur about you saving me from the Camelot's hunting party and helping me to get to Ealdor when I was injured with the arrow wound. I don't ever think that I can tell Arthur that the deer that they were shooting at was me. Or the fact that he almost shot me in the heart. But I don't blame him; I blame Morgana for enchanting me to look like a deer. I'm just happy that it was you that found me when the enchantment wore off." She said.

"Yes, I don't think that telling him would be very productive. It would just make him feel guilty and then he would go on sulking or moping around the place." Merlin said wisely.

"You sound like you have done this before Merlin."

"Hahaha as I've ben saying all along, I have saved his life so many times that I have lost count. All behind his back of cause." Merlin said with a chuckle.

"How can you keep secrets from him?" She asked.

"It's not been easy. Especially when he is my best friend and the king but it kind of is a way of protecting him, though I would never tell him that. I would probably end up in the stocks if he ever found out about this conversation." Merlin answered truthfully.

The Queen chuckled at that, all the while the pair in the chamber had no idea the one person in the whole world that they didn't want to hear was standing right outside the door with a shocked look on his face. Arthur just count believe what he was hearing. _First he had hunted and shot at his wife like she was a hunk of meat and then that fact that Merlin had saved her and then to top it all off Merlin has been keeping secrets from him. He really needed to find out what type of secrets they were. Maybe Merlin hasn't been in the tavern all those times that Gaius said he was, or maybe he has an avoided Gwaine every single time because that man practically lived in the tavern. _Arthur thought thinking of his conversation with the rouge knight.

_No, I can't think of this now, I came with the purpose of rewarding Merlin something for his bravery yesterday, so I should get on with it and deal with all the secrets and lies later._ He thought. One of the good things that came out of over hearing the conversation of his wife and friend was that he knew exactly what his gift was. Quietly walking backwards a few paces he loudly stomped towards the door in hope that they would hear someone coming and change the topic. It worked because the next second silence fell over the pair inside.

Opening the door revealed that Merlin and Gwen were sitting down at the table by the fireplace. Looking at the table he could see a large meal place in front of Merlin although little of it was consumed. Raising his left eyebrow in an uncanny impression of Gaius, Arthur said "I'm guessing Mary sent this up to you?"

"Yeah apparently one of the children yesterday is her little cousin. So she was very thankful toward me. I think she has finally forgiven me for saying that she smells worse than her food." Merlin replied.

"HAHAHA you said _that_ to her face?" Arthur laughed thinking of what the look on the cooks face when Merlin said that would have been.

"Yes but hopefully I'm in her good books now." Merlin said sincerely.

Turning to look at his love he said "Good morning Guinevere I see you have escaped the clutches of George this morning, leaving me to deal with him."

"I suppose I did but you told me that you wanted to sleep in last night." Gwen said eliciting a groan from her husband when he realised that she was right.

Looking back to Merlin Arthur said seriously "Merlin there's something that I need to discuss with you."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. Can it? Cause you never use that face unless it is really bad or serious." Merlin rambled looking at Arthur with a searching look.

"In a way it is I suppose, I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday down in the lower town. Both helping out with the sickness and distracting the sorcerer until help came. I've been thinking on what would be a nice reward for you." Arthur confessed.

"I hope you weren't thinking to hard there, you know your brain can't handle it." Merlin said with a cheeky grin.

"_Mer_lin, what I wanted to say was that you disserved a few weeks of to heal and whatnot, maybe even visit your mother, I know you haven't seen her in a while."

It was all worth it when Arthur saw Merlin's surprise on his face then surprise morphed into a look of pure happiness along with his token idiotic grin plastered all over his face. Arthur could see his wife's approval written all over her face and he knew that he had done the right thing.

"Two weeks!" Merlin exclaimed. "You do realize that you will have to put up with George for those weeks." He then said with a cheeky grin.

By that time it was dawning on Arthur what he said and what that ment. A look of pure horror appeared on his face making both Merlin and Gwen laugh out loud. _What have I done! I didn't think about the George problem, I can't stand him for two days let alone 2 WEEKS. Maybe I can go with Merlin, there is a sorcerer out there and merlin is injured so he will need protection. I don't think the council will let me go especially my uncle. Damn that means putting up with George. _Arthur thought looking like the world is ending.

"You should take Gwaine with you, as protection." Arthur decided.

"I can look after myself you know." Merlin said shooting a glare at Arthur.

"YES YOU END UP GETTING INJURED WHILE LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF!" Arthur exploded.

"That's not what I ment." Merlin muttered.

Sighing Arthur said "It would make me feel better if someone was there to watch your back, because YOU are a trouble magnet."

"Fine then that's settled, but what about the sweating sickness?"

"They have all the help that they need, another healer arrive last night while you were unconscious and is helping the other physician with the treatments." Gwen piped up.

"See everything is taken care of except for telling Gwaine." Saying that, Arthur strode to the door and poked his head out in search for a servant. Catching one he sent her off to tell him to find Sir Gwaine and bring him back here. The servant bobbed a curtsey and went off to do his bidding. Going back over to his wife's side he sat down to wait.

"I'm sure he will be happy, he's been bugging me to let him meet my mother." Merlin said wincing at the growing pain in his head.

Seeing his pain Gwen got up from the table and walked over to guises work bench searching for the vile of pain reliever. Upon finding it she picked it up and walked back handing in to Merlin on the way. He muttered a thanks before downing it in one gulp. Arthur was about to comment on the way Gwen was knowledgeable about certain medicines but the arrival of Gwaine put an end to that. Bursting through the door Gwaine's face lit up upon seeing the three people in the room especially the awake manservant.

"Good morning my Queen, Princess and my friend." Gwaine said bowing to each of the royalty and giving a hand wave at Merlin.

Scowling at Gwaine Arthur shouted "I AM NOT A PRINCESS, IAM YOU KING!"

"Not so loud Arthur." Gwen scolded him, motioning towards Merlin who was massaging his temple in the effort to get rid of the throbbing headache.

"The lass in the hall said that you wanted me for something?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes that is correct; I wanted you to go on a little trip to keep a certain someone out of trouble for the next few weeks." Arthur said motioning towards the drowsy looking manservant.

"I told you I can take care of myself." Merlin Muttered.

"I have yet to see proof of that." Arthur retorted.

"So where will we be going?" Gwaine asked curiously.

"We're going to visit my mother in Ealdor."

"I've always wanted to meet your mother. I'm sure she has lots of embarrassing tales to tell of you. Ohhhh when are we going?" The excited Gwaine asked.

"I think tomorrow morning at first light that way we can get there in a couple of days with a few rests along the journey." Merlin answered getting up to stow the leftover food in the larder.

"Gwaine I want a word with you in private." Arthur said getting up and motioning to the camber door.

* * *

Following Gwaine out the door Arthur made sure that it was firmly closed before continuing down the passage way to an unused chamber. Once they were inside with the door closed Arthur turned to Gwaine saying "I wanted to talk in private without Merlin listening. The reason that I'm sending you is to make sure someone is there to protect him just in case the sorcerer comes back to get his revenge against Merlin from stopping him killing and destroying Camelot. You need to keep an eye out for trouble; there are lots of bandits out in the woods at this time of year."

"You don't have to worry; I won't let anything happen to him under my watch." Gwaine said with a determined look in his eyes.

Chuckling Arthur responded "That's why I chose you. You look after him like I do. Like a brother. But don't you dare tell him of this conversation or I'll deny it ever happened and something like a trip to the stocks will sort you out."

"Awwwww you care for him after all. It warms the heart to know the King thinks of a servant as his brother."

"Gwaine _shut up_."

"But this is too good an opportunity to let pass."

"Gwaine I'm warning you."

"Ok I get it, shutting up."

"That's better. Now another thing before we go, I want you to watch Merlin very closely, I think he has many secrets that he's not telling us. I'm sure that he's up to something. And don't annoy his mother to much I overheard Merlin tell Gwen that she's sick."

"Do you know how sick she is?" Gwaine asked.

"No I don't. But I think having someone like Merlin to care for her will heal her right up. He has been training with Gaius after all and you know how good Gaius is at his job. Now let's get back before they think that something has happened." Arthur said.

Turning to leave he muttered. "Now I have to hide from George for the next two weeks. It's going to be hell."

"He can't be that bad, can he?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes he is; you don't know what he's like. He follows you around and when you think that you've ditched him he pops right back up next to you again. I'm coming to the conclusion that he's not human."

"I think that you're making this up." Gwaine scoffed moving passed Arthur to open the door.

Opening the door Gwaine made a move to leave but stopped on his tracks as there was someone in the way.

"Good morning again sire, I have completed the tasks that you set for me was there anything else." George said with a low bow.

Arthur gestured at George as if to say you see what I mean to Gwaine who stood there with a widening smirk on his face.

"I shall leave you to your manservant in peace my king." Gwaine said with a wide smirk at Arthur's face and with a deep bow left the room.

Glaring at the retreating knight's back all Arthur's thoughts were of revenge on Gwaine and how to ditch George this time.

* * *

**AN: Sorry it took so long but it is a bigger chapter then the rest so far. I will probably update within the week.**

**See you next time!**

**Mushushy.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5**

**AN: Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam.**

* * *

As dawn broke the next morning, the two horses that were waiting in the courtyard for their owners were saddled and ready to go. Merlin was standing in a dark green traveling cloak on the front steps waiting for Gwaine to make an appearance. Standing next to him was Arthur, Gwen and all the rest Knights of the Round Table rugged up against the cold of the morning. They waited about 10 minutes before Arthur broke the silence.

"Where the hell is that drunkard?" he asked to the group.

The group shrugged in return, not knowing where the missing knight is. Arthur frowned thinking that he was sure that he told Gwaine to not be late and of cause the knight didn't listen to him. Arthur was about to ask Leon to go and find him when the missing knight appeared with his bags on his right shoulder and a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Ahhhh you're all here good." He said either not noticing the glare the king and his knight were sending to him or he didn't care.

"We have been waiting for you for the past half an hour in this cold fidget morning air. So what's your excuse?" a grumpy cold Leon asked.

"I've been gathering supply's for the trip." Gwaine said with a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"More like two weeks' worth of ale." Elyan muttered to Percival, who nodded in return.

"I was down in the kitchen getting a few things…."

"Ale." Elyan coughed into his hands earning a snigger from Arthur and his knights.

"When I ran into Mary the head cook and she gave me a few extra items to give to Merlin here. I think she has a soft spot for you my friend." Gwaine said clamping a hand on Merlins uninjured shoulder.

"More food?" Merlin asked.

"Yes quite a bit of it."

"I swear that she's trying to fatten me up." Merlin mumbled.

Laughing with the rest of the group Arthur said. "I thought that was Gaius's job when he's here."

"I think he has met his match." Merlin said sending the group into a fit of laughter.

"Mary even included a few sweet roles in the pack. She says that you try to eat them when she's made them and she catches you every time." Gwaine said with a smirk.

"Got a few wacks with a spoon across the back of the hand for all my troubles. She can sneak up on you we she wants." Merlin said.

"I'm surprised by you Merlin." Arthur said.

"Why?" Merlin asked curiously.

"Because with ears as large as yours I thought that you heard everything!" he said Arthur getting another round of laughter from the group except Merlin who turned a bright red shade in embarrassment.

"Prat." Merlin muttered.

"Idiot." Arthur said.

"Dollop head." Merlin returned.

"That's not a proper word." Arthur argued.

"Yes it is, I've told you before that it is." Merlin shot back.

Arthur was about to say something back but Gwen cut him off. "Gentlemen I think that's enough, its freezing out here and I want to go back into the warm chambers. Since _Gwaine_ has graced us with his presence the two of you can set of on your trip now. I hope that you have a safe journey and can you say hi to Hunith for me. Don't forget to tell her what I told you yesterday Merlin." She said hugging Merlin around his uninjured shoulder.

The King, Queen and the Knights of the Round Table said their goodbyes and well wishes. Merlin completely missed the silent exchange between Arthur and Gwaine as they silently communicated that Gwaine will watch over Merlin. They then watched as Merlin and Gwaine mounted their horses, waved goodbye and set of in a gallop leaving the courtyard at a fast pace. After the pair was no longer in sight, they all went inside to start their day.

* * *

At the edge of the Darkling forest a pair of brown eyes were watching as two riders set off from Camelot at a fast pace. The sorcerer recognised the green cloaked figure on the horse but not the knight beside him. It was obvious that he was a knight by the way that he was dressed, plus the bright red cape of Camelot kind of gave it away. This was going to change the plan a little bit and not all for the worst. Sure he was going to sneak into the castle and kill him in his sleep but with only one knight with him he should be able to kill the boy just as easy.

He could sense the magic in the boy, hell he could see the resemblance of Balinor in the skinny boy. He met Balinor once and he would never forget what that man did to him and his family. This was the next best revenge now that the bastered was dead, maybe he could torturer the where about's of the bastered's wife was, and then he could kill her. The prefect revenge. Hell maybe after he receives his reward from the King he could kill him to and wipe the whole family off the map. _Ohhhh I love that plan. This is going to be soooo good. _He thought.

Without any dragons alive there is no way that the boy will survive even if he does have a little magic on his side. He will still be wary of the boy just in case, so he needed to set a trap to take them both out, then he could handle it better. _It won't be long now._ The sorcerer thought retreating to the darkness of the forest.

* * *

As Merlin and Gwaine entered the Darkling forest they slowed down to a slower pace. There was no reason to tire the horses this early in the trip; they have a fare way to go to get to Ealdor and they wanted to go as far as they could before the sun set. Plus they didn't want the horses to become lam from any injury that they could have prevented.

The normal sounds of the forests resonated around the pair of riders, leaving them to listen to the first bird's songs of the morning. Of cause this did not last long as Gwaine had to break it by asking about what Ealdor was like. How the people were. Was there a tavern there? And so forth making Merlin's headache come back with full force causing him to say "_Please _be quiet your giving me a headache."

"Did you want the pain reliever now or later when we stop for lunch in an hour or so?" Gwaine asked.

"I just wait till we stop, as long as you stop asking questions and we have a few moments of silence. Not that I don't like reminiscing about Ealdor and its people." Merlin answered.

The blissful silence lasted a few minutes till Gwaine was back to asking questions incessantly. The man just had to speak even if it was to himself because Merlin was trying to block him out but he was slowly cracking. Merlin noticed something that was missing, he looked around trying to work it out but he couldn't find what it was. _There that being watched feeling is back_. He thought. _It's the same presence of the sorcerer that attacked Camelot the other day. I've got to tell Gwaine somehow that I know the sorcerer is watching and following us. That what's missing! The Bird songs! All the animals have become quiet, which could only mean danger is around. _Looking around him, Merlin couldn't spot anyone hiding in the trees. Merlin turned back to Gwaine who was still rambling on about the reasons that every town should have a tavern in them and he said "I think were being followed by someone."

Sitting up straighter and alert in his saddle Gwaine asked "How are you so sure there Merlin, I can't see anything out of the ordinary?"

"It's too quiet; there are no animals or birds making the normal forest noises. And I kind of have a sort of feeling that there is someone out there just out of sight." Merlin answered.

"Now that you've said it, I can't hear any animals. In fact I haven't heard any for the past 10 minutes." Gwaine said worriedly.

"Maybe we should pick up the pace?" Merlin asked.

"I think that is a good idea." Gwaine answered kicking his horse in to a faster speed with Merlin following right behind him.

Urging his horse forward Merlin gripped the reins tighter, searching the woodland around him for any sign of a threat. Turning to check that Gwaine was still alright he noticed that the presence of the sorcerer felt like it was getting stronger and closer. He had enough time to shout Gwaine's name before he was pulled backwards off his horse.

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**AN: Sorry it's been a few days but it has been too hot to write and it only going to get worse as the forecast is in the 40s for the next 4 or 5 days. WAY TO HOT! So I might not update for a week or so depending on when it will cool down here, sorry in advance for that. Please review and I shall see you soonish.**

**Mushushy.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6**

**AN: This is in Merlin's POV in parts so the words in itelics are his thoughts. Enjoy!**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam who will be back!**

* * *

Merlin hit the ground hard on his left side sending shooting pain down his arm and around his shoulder and knocking the breath right out of him. The black dots in his eyes faded as he lay there for a minute catching his breath. Rolling so that he was laying on his right shoulder he looked around to try and spot the sorcerer or Gwaine, what he saw chilled him to his bones. The sorcerer was magically holding Gwaine up in the air by his throat and his sword on the ground a few metres away; he could see that he was choking Gwaine by the way the knight was trying to fight an invisible force. Merlin could see that Gwaine was weakening from the lack of air; he had to do something now. Struggling into a kneeling position he raised his right hand and let out an instinctive burst of magic in the direction of sorcerer and Gwaine. It did the trick as the sorcerer was forced back and with the sorcerer's concentration disturbed Gwaine was released from his hold falling down in a heap, head facing Merlin's direction and his eyes closed.

Getting up from his kneeling position Merlin ran to check on Gwaine, seeing that he was still alive but unconscious he let out a relived sigh. Looking up to see that the sorcerer was getting back on his feet, Merlin followed suit standing protectively in front of the fallen Gwaine. He had a shield spell ready to protected both Gwaine and himself, the only thing would be that Gwaine would kind of notice a shimmering wall all around him but that didn't matter now because Gwaine was not conscious and wouldn't see his secret.

Pulling him from his thoughts the sorcerer said. "Well, well, well you chose to challenge me do you boy?"

"What do you want?" Merlin asked glaring at him.

"What do I want? Let's see, I want to see your family, your friends and the whole of Camelot dead and burning. I want to see your blood run in rivers. I want to see you suffer in pain and loss. I WANT TO SEE YOU DEAD, THAT'S WHAT I WANT!" The sorcerer finished his rant shouting but didn't finish advancing to Merlin until he was a few metres away from him.

"Ohhhh so the usual huh. I mean you don't know a thing about me or my family. I don't even know your name!" Merlin shot back.

"My name is Jace! I knew your father before you did. He destroyed my family and I want my revenge! Now that he's dead it will have to be you."

"You're lying he wouldn't harm anyone let alone a family."

"Your father was just like Uther Pendragon, he hunted me down when I used my magic to help my family, magic wasn't outlawed where we were yet he tried to prosecute me, just like the new King of Camelot, Arthur." Jace accused.

"Your wrong about Arthur, he's different then his father, he's changed. He pardoned the druids; as long as they do not harm others with or without magic then he doesn't go after them. There hasn't been any burning or hangings of magic folk since he's been King." Merlin defended.

"I wonder what he would do to his manservant once he knows the truth. You know the one that has the magic. Would he be lenient or would he try to kill him because you are no druid, only a sorcerer and a weak one at that. No he would burn you into ashes but that doesn't matter because I'm going to kill you first." Jace said taking a step closer to Merlin, stoping when he raised his right hand.

"No I'm not a druid, but I'm known by them. I go by another name, the name of Emrys and I am no weakling." Merlin said creating a golden glow of magic around himself as a show of power.

Stumbling backwards Jace was shaking his head in denial. "That's impossible! Emrys is a legend, your too young to be him, you're just a boy!"

"I may be young but you cannot defeat me, I am no mere sorcerer I'm a warlock and the last dragon lord." Merlin said proudly.

"It doesn't matter that you're a dragon lord, all your dragons are dead so they can't help you in any way." Jace laughed.

"I don't need a dragon to defeat you." Merlin said confidently stepping forward.

"We shall see wont we." Jace said.

Being prepared for an attack it only took a second for Merlin to throw up his shield around Gwaine and himself when Jace throw a fireball in his direction. It dissipated on contact with Merlins magic shield followed by another and another. After a minute of flying flaming fireballs hitting the shield it was still going strong and looked like it would never break. Merlin however was getting slightly annoyed by Jace and decided enough was enough. After the next fireball dissipated he made his move, throwing a fire ball of his own he muttered a spell to create a ball of lightning. Merlin threw the lightning ball with dangerous accuracy hitting Jace on the right side of his chest throwing him backwards a few metres landing on back painfully but he didn't move, faking being knocked out.

Merlin dropped his shield and moved closer to Jace to see if he was down for the count, he realized he wasn't when he was blown back past where Gwaine still lay. Black spots danced in his vision as his he hit the ground hard. He could feel a sharp pain in his right side, placing his hand down to check he felt a wetness sensation covering his fingers. Bringing his hand back up, he could see that it was covered with blood. It finally registered in his brain that it was in fact his blood on his hand and that he was bleeding from a wound on his chest. Looking down to inspect the damage he could see a big looking burn just right above his navel on his right side. The pain finally caught up to him and he groaned as he struggled to stand up. He finally managed to get one knee underneath him that would support his weight; from there he stood up looking for Jace, spotting him nearing where Gwaine was he rushed forward on unstable legs.

Neither Merlin nor Jace saw that Gwaine had twitched slightly like he was waking up; they were too preoccupied with each other. Merlin could have sworn that he felt a dragon presence close by, but that was impossible as Kilgharrah should have been far away looking after Aithusa and she was too little to fly all the way to Camelot. So who is the mystery dragon coming this way, was he or she friend or foe. Merlin didn't have long to ponder that particular thought as he stopped in front of Jace ready for the fight to continue. Seeing Jace muttering another spell Merlin threw up his shield to protect Gwaine and himself from whatever spell Jace was incanting.

Feeling something solid slam into his shield he looked to see if anything got through to harm Gwaine, but the knight was still laying down. Relief rushed through him seeing the knight was: one not harmed by Jace's spell and two he hadn't seen any of his magic acts. Throwing out a burst of instinctual magic he pushed Jace back but not far due to Jace's own shield. _Damn it! Jace is stronger than I thought. I have to finish this soon; I'm losing too much blood. Everything is becoming blurry. I have to I stop him before he kills us or Gwaine wakes up and sees my magic._ Merlin thought, sending another burst of magic to try and knock Jace of his feet. Succeeding in unbalancing Jace Merlin rushed forwards to pick up Gwaine's fallen sword while Jace stood up. Advancing towards the enemy sorcerer he levelled the sword at Jace's chest stoping him from coming any closer.

"This has got to stop. You cannot defeat me, go and I will let you live as long as you don't come anywhere near me, my family or Camelot ever again." Merlin said strongly.

"Not till I have my revenge against your family and if I die killing you, well that's just unfortunate but at least I will have my revenge." Jace said standing there with his hands hidden behind his back underneath his cloak fiddling with something.

"Look I'm sorry for whatever happened to your family but I wasn't alive and I'm sure that my father would not do anything to hurt anybody, let alone a family. I'm giving you another shot to just go, leave and never come back before you can't. What would your family think about you killing me?" Merlin said trying to reason with Jace.

"They don't think! Their dead as you will be." Jace shouted bringing his hands around to the front holding a small dagger in his right and a small vile full of purple liquid in the other. He rushed forwards muttering a spell to knock the sword out of Merlin hands. It landed close to where Gwaine was on the ground. With the sword out of the way Merlin had no physical way to block to dagger as it was aimed straight at his heart. He managed to dodge the dagger at the last second, but got a scratch on his arm as Jace came around for another shot. A loud growl sounded as a little white blur swooped towards Jace knocking the dagger out of his hand it came around for another attack but stopped up short when a sword was driven through Jace's chest, the tip showing on the other side.

Jace gasped as the sword was pulled out causing the blood to rush out of the wound and with all his remaining strength spelled a whirlwind to transport himself away to Olesia. As Jace disappeared Gwaine was left standing there with his bloody sword in his hands and a triumphant look on his face. Merlin just stood there swaying from the blood loss and shock, Aithusa landed in front of him facing Gwaine growling as the knight stood uneasy at seeing a real life dragon standing there growling and preventing him from going to his injured friend.

"Aithusa stop that, Gwaine's a friend. Gwaine she won't hurt you." Merlin said sighing heavily as his strength waned. _How was he going to explain all of this?_ Merlin thought.

"Oh is that right Dragon Lord or is it Warlock?" Gwaine said still eyeing the dragon as she did the same.

"You heard that?" he said turning paler than was healthy, with the black spots getting larger every second.

"I heard everything Emrys." Gwaine said turning to look at Merlin.

_Oh crap!_ Was Merlin's last thought as he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

* * *

**An: I posted this alittle earlier then I said but hey its another chapter which I hoped that you enjoyed. See you next time.**

**Mushushy.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

**AN: This is in Gwaine's POV of the last couple of chapters in parts so the words in itelics are his thoughts. Some dialoge is the same and there will be violance. Enjoy!**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knight Sir Liam who will be back!**

* * *

The day for Gwaine had started in high spirits as he got his hands on some of the good ale for the trip to Ealdor with Merlin and he was ready for anything, plus Mary gave them some sweet rolls as well. The face that Arthur had pulled when he turned up a few minutes late to see everybody off was priceless, the fact that Arthur made such a big deal about nothing was also funny. After mounting his horse and having his sight exchange with Arthur about keeping Merlin safe from harm, they were waved off by the group as they rode though Camelot at a fast pace, slowing down when they reached the edge of the darkling forest.

Riding side by side he started asking questions about Merlin's home town and how it was when he grew up there. He was very interested in everything, especially if there was a tavern there and if there was then how good were the ale and the barmaids. Of cause finding that there was not any taverns in Ealdor at all put a dampener on the trip for Gwaine but he took precautions against having no supply of ale and if he ran out then well he will have to deal with that when it got to it. He so looking forwards to meeting Merlin's mother after all Merlin had told him about her, the only downside was the fact that she was apparently ill. Hopefully Merlin will be able to help her back in to perfect health with all the things Gaius had taught him while I watch to make sure there is no one is going to harm Merlin.

It had all been going great as the morning progressed with him asking questions and Merlin answering until Merlin snapped at him to _please_ be quiet. It looked like Merlin was a bit pale and in a bit of pain, probably needs his pain reliever for his concussion headache, so he asked him if he wanted it now or later. Getting a no in reply it was back to the silence of the forest, there were no sounds to hear, there usually is like birds whistling, it was very worrying so he just couldn't help himself when he started talking again to fill in the silence. Plus Gwaine was just too excited about this trip and getting back on the road again even if it was just for two weeks. He got back on his favourite topic Taverns and why they should be in every town and city, as he was rambling on he noticed that Merlin went stiff in his saddle. Thinking that he was annoying Merlin and expecting him to tell him to shut up again, Gwaine was not ready when Merlin said that they were being followed.

Sitting up straighter in his saddle, he looked around alert to any danger lurking in the forest surrounding them; he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary so he asked "How are you so sure there Merlin, I can't see anything out of the ordinary?"

Maybe it was nothing and Merlin was hearing something that wasn't there but Merlin replied "It's too quiet; there are no animals or birds making the normal forest noises. And I kind of have a sort of feeling that there is someone out there just out of sight."

This worried Gwaine, making him look around him in a paranoid way. How did Merlin notice and I didn't, I'm a trained Knight of Camelot. He really should stop talking sometimes and listen to his surroundings more. Turning back to Merlin he said "Now that you've said it, I can't hear any animals. In fact I haven't heard any for the past 10 minutes."

"Maybe we should pick up the pace?" Merlin asked.

"I think that is a good idea." Gwaine answered kicking his horse in to a faster speed; looking back he could see Merlin do the same with his horse. He needed to get Merlin somewhere safe even if this turns out to be nothing then we would get to Ealdor faster than expected. He heard Merlin shout his name in fear; turning to look at him he saw a horse without the rider. Worriedly he slowed his horse down turning her back to face the direction that he came from he sped up to find Merlin again before he gets injured, Merlin's horse so faithfully followed suit.

Finally spotting Merlin down on the ground with a clocked figure drawing near caused Gwaine to get off his horse and draw his sword in anger. He was sure that the cloaked man was the sorcerer that attacked the lower town and Merlin the other day, meaning this guy was a threat to them both, he would have to kill this man before he got them. Advancing towards the sorcerer with caution, Gwaine moved passed Merlin on the ground, with a quick glance at his friend he could see that he was still awake and clutching his shoulder like it was in pain. Putting that thought in the back of his mind Gwaine focussed on the sorcerer standing a few metres away from them, he needed to be ready for anything that the sorcerer could throw at him.

"If you want to live I suggest that you leave and maybe I won't hunt you down." The sorcerer said.

"I am a knight of Camelot and this is my friend who I will protect with my life if I have to, so I suggest that _you _leave." Gwaine said gripping his sword in anticipation for the sorcerer's next move.

"What makes you think that you will defeat me? I'm more powerful then you and can kill you with a twitch of my fingers, see." The sorcerer said. He muttered something under his breath and with a twitch of his fingers Gwaine was lifted into the air chocking at the invisible iron grip on this throat. Dropping his sword Gwaine moved his hands up to try and dislodge the tightening grip that was cutting of his air, but no matter what he did he could not get enough air, his strength waned and his vision had a black edge around it. He almost lost consciousness when the sorcerer dropped him on the ground in a heap, getting his breathe back he could hear the sorcerer talking with someone that sounded like Merlin but he kept his eyes closed pretending to still be out of it. It was about then that he realized that he was frozen and unable to move, the sorcerer must have cast a spell or something. So instead he listened carefully and he heard Merlin say "Ohhhh so the usual huh. I mean you don't know a thing about me or my family. I don't even know your name!"

"My name is Jace! I knew your father before you did. He destroyed my family and I want my revenge! Now that he's dead it will have to be you." _So now I know his name is Jace, Jace the evil sorcerer. What the hell does he know about Merlin's father! _Gwaine thought.

"You're lying he wouldn't harm anyone let alone a family." _You tell him Merlin!_

"Your father was just like Uther Pendragon, he hunted me down when I used my magic to help my family, magic wasn't outlawed where we were yet he tried to prosecute me, just like the new King of Camelot, Arthur." _Wait what?_

"Your wrong about Arthur, he's different then his father, he's changed. He pardoned the druids; as long as they do not harm others with or without magic then he doesn't go after them. There hasn't been any burning or hangings of magic folk since he's been King_." I know Merlin doesn't like to kill people but why would he care about those with magic, that's borderline treason._

"I wonder what he would do to his manservant once he knows the truth." _What truth?_ "You know the one that has the magic." _Magic! Did he just say magic! That's impossible!_ "Would he be lenient or would he try to kill him because you are no druid, only a sorcerer and a weak one at that. No he would burn you into ashes but that doesn't matter because I'm going to kill you first."_ No way would Merlin use magic, he lives in Camelot, hell he's manservant and best friend to the king and he has magic. He wouldn't do that to Arthur and the rest of us. Hell if he would have told anyone it would have been me, he knows I wouldn't tell anyone doesn't he?_

"No I'm not a druid, but I'm known by them. I go by another name, the name of Emrys and I am no weakling." _Emrys? Isn't that the sorcerer that Arthur and Agravaine are looking for? It can't possibly be Merlin_. So Gwaine opened his eyes slightly just in time to see Merlin creating a golden glow of magic making him glow in an ethereal light. _So it's true! I always thought that Merlin was different but this I would not have guessed. It kind of explains a few things. I knew he didn't drink._

Getting over his shock he turned back to listening to them talking "….. Impossible! Emrys is a legend, your too young to be him, you're just a boy!"

"I may be young but you cannot defeat me, I am no mere sorcerer I'm a warlock and the last dragon lord." _DRAGON LORD ohhhh this just keeps getting better._

"It doesn't matter that you're a dragon lord, all your dragons are dead so they can't help you in any way." Jace had laughed.

"I don't need a dragon to defeat you."

"We shall see wont we."

He was not prepared for the magic fight that happened in the next minutes, he wished that he could help Merlin but he was still under the spell and he couldn't move, no matter how much he struggled he couldn't move a finger let alone lift his sword. He will deal with the fact the Merlin was an all-powerful dragon lord sorcerer person later, first he had to help him. He could see Merlin had shielded them both with his magic as Jace through fireballs at them. Judging by the fact that the shield hadn't failed under the bombardment Gwaine could tell that Merlin was indeed a strong sorcerer himself, maybe they had a chance. He was very impressed when Merlin threw a ball of lightning and it actually hit Jace right in the chest. _Nice shot! _Merlin moved past him, dropping the shield as he went. Moving past his eye line he was surprised when Merlin went flying back past and landed heavily a couple of metres away from him. _MERLIN!_

Gwaine could see blood coming from the burn wound on his chest. Sensing Jace was nearing him he tried and failed again move anything so he closed his eyes in the attempt to trick him into thinking that he was not awake and watching. _Ahhhh there my arm twitched slightly, it's a start._ Opening his eyes to slits he could see Merlin rushing back into the fight, conjuring his shield again in time to stop Jace's own ball of lightning. The brightness of the lightning forced Gwaine to shut his eyes again and focussed on trying to move, he was vaguely aware that someone had picked up his fallen sword he hoped that it was Merlin, but he was busy moving both his arms and legs which was slightly successful, gaining hope he concentrated harder ignoring what was being said by Merlin and Jace. He heard the sound of his sword falling close by and opened his eyes fully then he set his mind to picking it up, he had to help his friend magic or no magic.

Gwaine inched his hand towards his sword slowly, finally grasping it he worked on standing up when he heard a loud growl reverberated around the forest. He saw a little white blurry figure that kind of looked like a dragon but that was impossible because they had killed the last one. Gwaine then remembered that was what Merlin told them, Merlin the dragon lord. He felt like hitting his head repeatedly on the nearest tree. The white dragon headed straight for Jace's daggered hand growling as it went, it succeeded in knocking the dagger out of his hand. Gwaine seized his chance, getting up shakily he manoeuvred behind the distracted Jace, levelled his sword and thrust it straight through the enemy sorcerer's chest till it showed on the other side. _A kill strike if I ever saw it. _His face broke out in a huge smile as he hit his mark. Pulling his sword out of Jace he felt more control of his body as the spell wore off, he put his other hand up to shield his face as a whirlwind completely enveloped Jace taking him away from them.

Gwaine was left standing there facing the white dragon who was growling at him, as if to warn him from getting any closer to Merlin who looked like he was going to collapse at any second. Gwaine didn't know what to do now, thankfully Merlin said "Aithusa stop that, Gwaine's a friend. Gwaine she won't hurt you."

Wanting to get a little bit back at Merlin for not telling him about his magic sooner, Gwaine decided to play a little trick for payback so without taking his eyes off of the dragon; he put on a serious voice saying. "Oh is that right Dragon Lord or is it Warlock?"

He could tell it worked when Merlin's shaky voice said "You heard that?"

Gwaine couldn't resist adding. "I heard everything Emrys." he turning to look at Merlin for the first time, he noticed that he was extremely pale and looked like he could collapse at any moment, which he did a second later with a thump Merlin landed on the ground, causing both Gwaine and the dragon to rush to check on him. Merlin's pulse was rapid and he was losing quite a bit of blood from his wounds, Gwaine was panicking as he was not so good at dealing with wounds but better at dealing them out. Locating the source of the bleeding he placed some pressure in the hope that the bleeding will stop, he was surprised when he was pushed gently out of the way by the dragon who breathed deeply out on Merlin. Gwaine eyes widen comically as the wounds on Merlin closed together fully healing themselves. The dragon turn its head to Gwaine and let out a low whine before turning=g back to watch over a sleeping Merlin.

Not wanting to disturb the dragon Gwaine moved around to the other side of Merlin to check his pulse again, he was happy to find it was stronger than before. It looked like Merlin was just in a deep sleep and not going to wake up anytime soon so Gwaine went to lift him up but stoped to look at the dragon. He was sure that it wouldn't attack him but he could have been wrong, the dragon however made no move to attack him so he continued to lift Merlin so he could place him on the horses waiting patiently further down the road. Moving swiftly towards them Gwaine looked back and noticed that the dragon was following which didn't seem to bother him in fact it reassured his slightly. After securing Merlin on his horse with a few ropes so he didn't fall off he looked down to the dragon who was watching him with inquisitive eyes. It was about the size of a small cat with transparent wings attached to the body. Crouching down Gwaine held one hand out to let the dragon see that he was friendly, the dragon retaliated by nuzzling its head against the hand. Gwaine moved both his hands to pick it up; it didn't put up a fight. Walking with the dragon back over to his horse, he mounted up settling the dragon in his lap he gathered both Merlin's and his reins and set off at a slow pace in the direction of Ealdor. He was going to have a conversation with Merlin when he woke up, a long conversation.

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Jace landed with a thump as the whirlwind transported him in to the throne room of the Olesian castle. He knew he was dying, he could feel the blood pooling around him as he lay on the polished floor but he had to tell the insane King about the truth of that manservant, for revenge. The Olesian king was saying something he couldn't make out and gesturing towards the neckerchief in his hands. Jace spluttered coking on his blood. "Blue… shirt….brown…..jacket…..man….servant…..king… Camelot… Emrys…" One last cough later he stilled as his eyes glazed over. Jace was dead.

King Goran of Olesia looked down at the body of Jace, so his nephew is manservant in Camelot and to top it off he was THE Emrys, the one that the witch Morgana was looking for and if he managed to kill the boy then she would shower him in riches. Good thing that idiot sorcerer Jace gave him a description of the boy, now he could send a few more powerful ones to Camelot to finish the job. King Goran waved his hands towards the body ordering the servants to clean up the mess and went to his throne to plot his nephew's downfall.

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**AN: It's another 40 degree day here in lovely Perth! Oh how I wish for rain. I hope that the story is not going to slow, if it is then I welcome any ****criticism that you have to offer. see you soon!**

******Mushushy.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

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Gwaine had been thinking about the conversation he had overheard during the fight between Jace and Merlin. After getting over the shock of a few things like Merlin had magic, very powerful magic, the fact that he was a dragon lord and to top it off there was a real live dragon curled up asleep on his lap. Looking down at it Gwaine thought that it was kind of cute and it sounded like it was purring at him while he slept. If this was the same dragon that he supposed that Merlin had destroyed at that sorcerers tower a few months ago then me must have hidden it in that bag that he was carrying around. He remembered when he asked if Merlin wanted a hand carrying the bag he was shut down every time, now however it makes perfect sense. Gwaine was developing a soft spot for the dragon, what did Merlin called it again Atuuusa or something like that he will ask Merlin when he wakes up.

Hearing the sound of hooves coming towards them he took off his Camelot red cape and placed it over the sleeping dragon, once that was done his right hand found the pommel of his sword. The approaching group of horse men was a Camelot patrol and it would be a really bad if they saw the dragon. The lead knight approached them throwing his hand up in greeting which Gwaine reciprocated leaving his other hand resting on the hidden dragon in the attempt to keep it there and out of view. It was Sir Richard, one of the older Knights of Camelot, kind to anyone his friend but deadly to his enemies. Upon reaching them Sir Richard asked about how his day was going, not spotting the horse behind him with merlin ties to the saddle. When Sir Richard did, he asked with a surprised gasp, "Is that Merlin strapped to the horse?"

"Yes we were attacked by a sorcerer, he took a hit to the head but he's fine." Gwaine said half telling the truth.

"As long as he's fine, but why are you heading away from Camelot, you not lost are you?" Sir Richard asked with a worried frown.

"No, we were going to visit his mother in the village of Ealdor and since it nothing serious I thought that we would go there instead of back to Camelot. Do you recon that you could do me a favour for me?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes, what did you want?"

"Could you please tell the king that the sorcerer that attacked Camelot the other day came back for vengeance against Merlin? But can you tell him that I killed him and Merlin is fine except for a bump on the head. You know how protective he is of our dear Merlin here." Gwaine said earning a few sniggers from the patrol

"There was an attack on Camelot?"

"Yeah a couple of days ago, from the sorcerer that attacked the lower town, Merlin was there and stopped him from hurting a bunch of children, he stood up to him to save the people and give them time to escape to the citadel. I think that the sorcerer went after Merlin for revenge." Gwaine said.

"You say he's dead?" Sir Richard inquired.

"Good as, I impaled him on my sword, he should have bleed out by now." Gwaine replied with a wide smile.

"Shall I tell the king anything else?" Sir Richard asked.

"Nothing that I can think of, just tell him everything is fine and we will see him in about two weeks' time. Ohhhh and the Sorcerer that attacked us went by the name of Jace, maybe he's wanted or something." Gwaine replied.

"Well I won't keep you, you've got a long ride ahead to reach Ealdor and we've been patrolling the northern border for the last week and I'm looking forward to resting at home with my family. So see you in a couple of weeks and give Merlin my best when he wakes up." Sir Richard said grasping Gwaine's forearm in a goodbye as Gwaine mirrored the action.

"See you in two weeks." Gwaine said back to sir Richard and watched as the patrol rode past leaving Gwaine and Merlin alone.

Gwaine nudged his horse into moving with Merlins horse following beside his own. A small little chirping noise made Gwaine look down to the little bundle still in his lap. The dragons head peeked out of the edge of Gwaine cape looking around with sleepy eyes. The dragon spotted Merlin on the horse beside them and made a chirping whistling noise, when it didn't get a response from the sleeping form it made the noise again but louder. The dragon looked so innocent chirping away Gwaine was glad that they didn't kill it back at the tower, it didn't look like it could destroy any thing let alone a city, and it was just so cute. It also made Gwaine wonder if it really was the last dragon on the planet because up until two hours ago he thought that they were extinct. He knew there was another dragon and that attacked Camelot, everyone knew about the Great Golden Dragon and that fact that Arthur killed it when it attacked out of the blue one day.

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As the day continued the little dragon would do it's best to wake Merlin up from his deep slumber, short of jumping on his face, Gwaine had to stop the dragon from doing that. He distracted the little dragon by feeding it food and that seemed to work for most of the afternoon but it was getting close to sundown when he started to wine louder than before. Seeing this as a sign that they should stop and make camp before it got too dark to see by, Gwaine looked around for a nice spot to stop. Spying a nice large clearing next to a stream to his left he turned the horses towards it and dismounted with the dragon cradled in his arms. Placing the young dragon down on the grass he set up the bed rolls under the leafy trees than Gwaine walked over to Merlin and started to untie the knots holding him on the horse. Picking Merlin up and carrying him on his shoulder Gwaine walked over to the bed rolls under the trees with the dragon following him every step of the way. The dragon settled down in front of Merlin's head, while Gwaine went around picking up some firewood to build a fire and get some cooking done as a surprise before Merlin woke up. The stew had been cooking for about an hour when the little dragon sat up listening to something that Gwaine could not hear then began making frightened sounds.

Gripping the hilt of his drawn sword he got up from the log that he was sitting on and approached the centre of the clearing with caution ready for anything. However he was not ready for a giant angry golden dragon that was descending right where he was standing prompting him to run back Merlin and the edge of the clearing. Gwaine knelt down and shock Merlin in the attempt to wake him up; failing that he brought his sword up on the defence. The golden dragon shook the ground as it landed facing the little white dragon. It opened up its mouth and let out a deep growl of anger causing the white dragon to cower into the ground in terror. If this was the great golden dragon that Gwaine thought it was then Arthur didn't manage to kill it after all and that the white dragon wasn't the last. Gwaine moved cautiously so that he was in front of the little dragon bringing the attention to him and away from the little one.

Fixing its golden eyes on him the great dragon surprised Gwaine by letting out a deep throated chuckle that shook the ground. After its laughing fit was over it looked over to where Merlin was laying down and Gwaine realized that there was worry in those ancient eyes. Thinking that the dragon had lost it Gwaine jumped when it said. "So one of the knights finally figured it out and you are still standing by Merlin, you really are strength aren't you."

"You can talk?" Gwaine asked surprised.

"He sure can and when he does, he normally talks in bloody riddles, it's getting him to shut up that the problem." Merlins voice piped up from behind Gwaine.

Turning Gwaine saw Merlin a few meters from him looking a lot better than he had in the last few days. Forgetting the dragons for the minute Gwaine went over to his friend to hug him but as he got closer Merlin took a step back causing Gwaine to stop in his track with a crestfallen look on his face. Not sure what to do next Gwaine waited for Merlin to make the first move, when there was silence for a couple of minutes he spoke up saying. "I'm sorry for the trick that I played with you earlier but I would never hurt you. I think that everything makes more sense now that I know about your magic and I would never tell anyone about it ether. I think it's kind of cool, imagine the amount of ale that you could make, you can make ale can't you?"

That caused a laugh out of Merlin who replied. "Out of all the things I could do with magic and you want to know if I can make ale out of thin air. Only you would ask that. Were you really joking earlier? So you're not mad about my magic?"

"No, my friend." Gwaine said shaking his head and he continued saying. "Shocked maybe for a few minutes but then I got to thinking that if you were an evil sorcerer intent on destroying Camelot then you have had multiple opportunities to do so. There for you can't be evil and frankly you are the friendliest person that I have ever met. The dragons are a big surprise though because frankly their supposed to be dead. But I don't think their evil ether, the little white one is very innocent looking and it even fell asleep on my lap like it trusted me."

"Her name is Aithusa and no she is far from evil."

"She's a she?" Gwaine asked.

"Yes and Kilgharrah is a male with a love for riddles and never gives a straight answer. Plus he's quite old even for a dragon; he can't even keep a hatchling from escaping when he should be watching her." Merlin said with a smile.

"So is a lot quicker then she looks, she sensed that you were nearby and wanted to see you and If I'm old then you should listen to me once and awhile. And don't call me old, I don't like it young warlock." Kilgharrah grumbled.

"Anyway what happened after Jace left, I don't remember riding a horse to here?" Merlin asked confused.

"Ohhhh well he kind of met the sharp end of my sword and spelled himself away but I'm pretty sure that he is dead now. The amount of blood was a dead giveaway. After he left Aithusa here had a staring contest with me while you collapsed from your injuries which shifted her focus to you. I think that she healed you of your injuries but then you would not wake up. So I strapped you to your horse and bonded with Aithusa while she slept on my lap as we continued on our way. I had to hide her from a Camelot patrol, which will tell Arthur about this latest attack and that we are fine. Aithusa hid under my cape the whole time and came out after they left. She tried to wake you but failed to many times, I also found out that she loves apples. Speaking of food I have to check on our dinner." Gwaine said as he walked over to the pot sitting on the fire.

Coming back with a couple of bowls of the stew for Merlin and himself and a few apples for Aithusa, Gwaine handed the food out. As they were eating Gwaine asked all about the times that Merlin had used Magic on his quests with Arthur and the knights, who knows and had he played any good pranks on Arthur. The evening grow later as they talked about everything that they could think of, until they grew tired and went to sleep with Kilgharrah keeping watch over them.

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Hello again, it finally rained here breaking the really really REALLY long dry spell but now it's going back to being hot again. I managed to write alittle bit of the story so now I have a few chapters ahead and the updates will come every 5 days. Anyway silence is not golden so please review.

Mushushy.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

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It was late afternoon when the patrol from the north rode in to Camelot with Sir Richard at the head of the group. Dismounting from his horse Sir Richard handed her off to one of the stable hands on duty and went to report to the king. Heading to the council chambers sir Richard ran into Sir Elyan and Sir Percival coming back from training covered in mud and grime, looking like they wanted to kill someone. They brightened up when they spotted him coming towards them. Sir Richard smiled at the sight of them and threw a hand up in greeting and said. "What happened to you two?"

"George is what happened. It hasn't been one day since Merlin has been gone and Arthur has been trying to hide from George but the man just seems to appear everywhere. I think that Arthur is right about him. He started by joking around but now he has this theory that George is not fully human and I'm starting to agree with him after what happened today." Elyan explained.

"Too bad for Arthur, he's got another two weeks with George." Richard said.

"How did you know that? You've been gone for the past week and that was only a day ago that it was decided." Elyan asked.

"We ran into Sir Gwaine and Merlin on the road, which reminds me, is it true that Merlin distracted a sorcerer and saved a bunch of people?" Richard asked.

"Yes he did." Percival answered shortly.

"You know the sorcerer that attacked Camelot came back for revenge against Merlin, he attacked them on the road." Richard said.

"Are they alright?" Elyan asked concerned.

"Yeah they should be, Gwaine killed the sorcerer and Merlin got a bump on the head and was asleep tied to a horse traveling towards Ealdor. It's one of the things that I have to tell the King when I find him." Richard answered. He continued by asking. "Do you know where he is?"

"Arthur should be taking a bath and getting rid of the mud and grime he pushed us in. so he is probable trying to hid from George somewhere in the catacombs. It's where I would try to hide. Or look behind you because I think that I can see him peering around the corner." Elyan said pointing to the muddy looking person peering in their direction.

They watched as the king crept along the corridor with his head turning to look in every direction like he was looking out for something. As the king made his way down towards the watching knights he held his index finger to his lips in a gesture to keep them silent. He motioned for the knights to follow him into an unused bedroom chamber that was just down the hall. Once reaching the room he entered with the knights still following with Percival shutting the door with a small click. Turning to face them he said in a low whisper. "You've got to help me hide from George!"

Upon hearing this, the knights burst out laughing, when they had their laughing fit under control Elyan said. "If you think that he can't do the job to your satisfaction then just fire him and get a replacement until Merlin returned."

"It's not like that; he does all his jobs expertly so I cannot fire him for that, it's just that he does them too well. I'm used to Merlin's work and how he does certain things or doesn't in most cases. I don't think that I like waking up with George standing at the foot of my bed watching Guinevere and I. It just creeps me out, in more ways than one. I'm used to Merlin waking me up by dropping something or throwing open the curtain to let the sunlight in while saying some to cheerful for that time of the morning. Merlin I'm happy with following me around but not George. He's everywhere; I can't seem to ditch him at all. I don't think that I can deal with a boot licker for the next two weeks. I'm considering going to follow Merlin to Ealdor just to hide from George." Arthur ranted at the knights.

"If you want sire we could send George away on some time consuming tasks to distracted him for a few hours to give you some time alone?" Sir Richard asked.

As if Arthur just realized that Sir Richard had returned he asked. "Sir Richard, when did your patrol return?"

"Just now sire, we've been on the road for a couple of days. There is no sign of trouble except what Sir Gwaine and Merlin ran into earlier today. Sir Gwaine said to say that they are fine and will continue on the road to Ealdor and not to worry as he killed the sorcerer that attacked them. He also said to tell you that the Sorcerers name was Jace and that it was the same one that attacked the lower town the other day." Sir Richard replied.

"So they're both alright and uninjured?" Arthur asked worried for his friends.

"Sir Gwaine seemed to be uninjured but Merlin apparently got hit on the head during the fight with Jace and was unconscious and tied to his horse. Other than not being awake Merlin didn't look like he was hurt. I'm sure if anything was wrong then they would have come back to Camelot instead of continuing their journey." Richard said trying to lessen the worry.

"As long as they are fine then, how was your patrol up north, anything to report?" Arthur asked.

"The journey was pretty uneventful, no bandits on the road and no soldiers from the other kingdoms." Richard reported.

Sir Richard talked about the patrol for the next ten minutes until he was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. The room went silent as the knock came again; Arthur motioned to Percival who was closest to the door to open it. Percival complied opening the door slowly to reveal a clean looking Leon standing there with an amused smile on his face as he saw the mud and grime caked knights and king. Walking in the room he shut the door behind himself, Leon cleared his throat saying. "George is looking for you sire, for your bath. I ran into him, he looked like the world was ending and I could only assume that you had choose to hide from him after what happened to you this afternoon in the training yard."

"How did you find me? I thought that I wasn't being followed to this unused room and I chose it for that very reason. Plus the fact that nobody comes in here, so how did you find us?" Arthur demanded flinging mud from his hands as he gestured in frustration.

"Well I just followed the mud trail from you and that led me to this room. It's clear as day which room that you entered as there was several pairs of footprints that started near the training field, which I'm assuming that their all the knights and yours sire. I heard about the incident from the guards in the courtyard, is it really true about what happened?" Leon asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Arthur muttered with similar mutters coming from the other two dirty knights, this sent Leon and Richard into a laughing fit.

Once he gained a hold on his laughter, Leon said. "Lord Agravaine was looking for you sire about the plans for the new fortifications to the outer wall. He waiting in the council chambers for you but may I suggest that you take the bath because you look like a mud monster out of a bog. And if I may suggest that if George is annoying you then tell him to take the rest of the day off, he one of those servant's that would follow your every word no matter what the request given to him."

"I suppose that you're right. If you see George then tell him to go back to my room and I will be there. I want all of you to get cleaned up and then meet up in the council chambers for a meeting about the fortifications that I think need reinforcing, I expect to see you all there in half an hour." Arthur said heading towards the door.

Opening the door he jumped back in shock as there was someone bocking the doorway. Arthur's mouth fell open at the sight of George standing there as if he was waiting for an order. Behind him, Arthur could hear the knights sniggering at the fact that George had managed to find them even after all the sneaking around that he did. Clearing his throat George said. "Sire, I'm sorry for the incident on the training field, your bath is ready for you in your chamber and the tasked that you have set me earlier this morning, was there anything else?"

"Yes, I want you to go to the library and get the blueprints for the city's foundation and the walls and bring them to the council chambers as soon as you can." Arthur ordered. George bowed and left to do as he was ordered leaving the knights and king alone in the room, turning to the knights Arthur gave them a smug look and left in the direction of his chamber leaving dirty footprints in his wake. The corridor was empty of people as Arthur walked back to his chamber which gave him a few minutes to think about what Sir Richard had said about the sorcerer named Jace. He was kind of relieved that the sorcerer was dead but not happy about the fact that he went after his best friend and brother knight. Only Merlin could attract danger the way that he does, maybe he should have sent Percival along too, to keep Gwaine and Merlin out of trouble. This is going to be a long two weeks maybe he should go on a hunt, he might actually kill something now that there should be no one to make all the noise that Merlin usually makes.

Entering his chambers he unbuckled his armour and dumped it on the floor making his way towards the tub of hot water waiting for him. He eased himself down into the water, leaned down resting his head on the edge of the tub and closed his eyes; he laid there in the hot water to unwind and loosens his muscles. Sighing Arthur started to wash the mud off, dipping his head under the water to wet his hair he missed the knock on the door. He was surprised when he opened his eyes and saw George standing in front of him watching him. Arthur was completely freaked out about how George could sneak in here without Arthur hearing him; it was the total opposite of Merlin. Clearing his throat Arthur said. "George I thought that you would take longer getting the blueprints, maybe you could go and get my dinner before I go to the meeting while I finish here and get dressed."

"Yes sire, I will be back with your dinner in a moment." George said bowing as he walked out the door. Sighing Arthur quickly cleaned of the rest of the mud and got out of the tub. He was halfway though getting dressed when there was a knock on his door. Arthur shouted his consent, admitting George with a heavily loaded plate of food which e placed on the dinning table as Arthur continued to pull a shirt over his head. Arthur turned to George saying. "You're dismissed for the night after you finish a few tasks while I'm at the meeting which could go late in to the night. Tomorrow morning I want to use my armour so it needs to be cleaned and polished before then. In the afternoon I shall be in some more meetings so you can have the afternoon off just make sure that you have a bath drawn for me when I come back from my training. That will be all for tonight George."

George bowed and left the room with a small click of the door as it shut behind him, leaving Arthur in peace to eat his dinner. He ate his dinner quickly as he knew he was expected to be at the meeting in a few minutes, hearing the hourly bell he shoved his feet into his boots and walked out his door thinking that this was going to be a REALLY two long weeks.

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**AN: Hello again readers, I dont know if any of you watch Pysch but if you do then OMG how good was the first episode of season 7. It's my new show that I look forward to every week now that Merlin has finished. I LOVE James Roday and Pineapples. My fav fruit. Anyway you should watch it and decide for yourself. See you later.**

**Mushushy.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

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Waking up the next morning to two dragons staring down at him was not the worst thing that Gwaine had woken up to but it might have been the strangest one. Remembering the facts that he had learnt the day before stopped him from reaching for his sword, instead he turned to the still sleeping warlock. He was unsure whether to shake him awake or leave him to sleep in; thankfully he didn't have to choose as Aithusa chose that moment to jump on Merlin causing the warlock to flail around trying to get the dragon hatchling off of him. Laughing at this sight Gwaine rescued his friend by holding out an apple he took from his bag; Aithusa abandoned Merlin and rushed over to take the apple form his hand with a sound of delight. A groggy looking merlin sat up now that the weight of the dragon was not weighing him down and looked at the dragon attacking an apple a few metres away from him with a goofy grin spreading across his face.

Getting up Merlin started to make breakfast for the two of them while Gwaine entertained Aithusa by hiding an apple behind is back only to bring it to his front when the dragon went around his back, this process repeated itself until Aithusa used her wings suddenly flying straight up and swooping down swiping the apple from a surprised Gwaine's hand. Laughing at the look on Gwaine's face, Merlin said. "You were trying to play keep away from a dragon that can fly, my friend sometimes you don't think. Now come over here and eat you breakfast before it gets cold. I want to get going so we can get to Ealdor before sunset."

"We did travel a fairway yesterday when you were strapped to your horse, so I think that we should be able to get there in the early afternoon around lunchtime if not slightly earlier, unless we stop for a break to rest the horses." Gwaine said taking the proffered food from Merlins outstretched hands and sitting back down on the fallen log.

"Good I'm looking forward to seeing my mother even if I have to take care of her; you're going to like her she has a great sense of humour which I think that you two will get along well. I have to warn you that you may have to sleep on the floor as my mother only has one bed in the house and I want to let my mother rest." Merlin said joining Gwaine on the log to eat his own breakfast watching Aithusa chase a butterfly around the clearing with Kilgharrah watching as well. After finishing eating breakfast, Merlin went off to clean the dishes in the stream to clean the dishes and pots; leaving Gwaine alone with the dragons. Getting up to talk to Kilgharrah, Gwaine dodged a hypo Aithusa still chasing the butterfly to sit down next to the huge dragon. Gwaine looked up at the dragon and said. "So you're the dragon that attacked Camelot a few years ago, I thought that Arthur killed you."

"Yes I regret that I was the dragon that attacked Camelot, I am ashamed at what I did and I thank Merlin that he gave me clemency after what I did. He held his hand when he could have speared me though the heart but he didn't. " Kilgharrah rumbled looking ashamed.

"Even after all that you did, Merlin would be that type of person. He looked after me when I was injured and he didn't even know me, true I help save the life of the Prince now King but he put up with me even when I tried my hardest to screw with the prince, I hated royalty back then and now thanks to Merlin I serve a worthy king. Like you I owe my life to Merlin in more ways than one and I hope to repay him one day so I think I know what it's like. So how did Merlin manage to 'kill' you in front of Arthur yet you lived? Gwaine asked.

"I don't know, I left before Arthur woke up, you would have to ask Merlin about that." Kilgharrah said.

"Merlin has so many secrets that I never knew he had, on one hand I understand why he had to hide his secrets but on the other I'm kind of angry that he didn't tell me about any of them. I wouldn't have told anyone without his permission. And here I am pouring my heart out to a dragon that should have been dead." Gwaine said throwing his hands up in frustration.

"It's not that he didn't tell you it's that couldn't. There have been many incidents that Merlin wished to tell you, the King and all the Knights of the Round Table but it was not the right time for it as there is still a hatred to those with magic in the kingdom of Camelot. So don't take it personally because I was one of the ones that told him not to tell anyone he has a few enemies out there, including the witch Morgana, who he has thwart her plans on multiple times. I think my favourite disguise he has is the one where he changed into an old man; it must take a lot of magic to perform the spell, so you can see how powerful he is." Kilgharrah said ruffling his wings to get comfortable again.

"Old man? Wait you don't mean the Great Dragoon or something do you?" Gwaine asked frowning trying to picture the old man in his head.

"Yes I think that was his name." Kilgharrah answered chuckling at the surprised look on Gwaine face.

"I'm going to kill him! He used us knights as steps to climb on his horse." Gwaine said standing up in anger. "No wonder he said what he did."

"Don't be too hard on him young knight, he did what he did for a reason." Kilgharrah said softly as the knight went to go find Merlin to get more answers about the riddle that is Merlin.

Spotting the warlock crouched at the stream scrubbing at the dirty pot from breakfast, Gwaine marched up to him determination written on his face. Coming to a stop behind him Gwaine asked. "Why don't you just use magic to clean it, seeing as you have strong magic?"

"Just because I have magic doesn't mean that I should use it for everything that I do. Plus I kind of forgot to use it, Gaius don't like it when I use it for chores, I only use it when I alone in my room when the door is locked. So are Kilgharrah's riddles annoying you? Because he has given me a headache every time that he started sprouting out his riddles instead of telling me straight up what to do or what is happening." Merlin muttered scrubbing harder at the pot at that thought.

"No the dragon said something about you being an old man once or twice. I of cause didn't believe the old lizard I mean you can't possibly be that sorcerer that killed Arthur's father." Gwaine said in the hope to get Merlin to say the truth.

I worked a little to well as Merlin stiffened at those words giving Gwaine the impression that Kilgharrah was telling the truth about the old man and Merlin. Gwaine couldn't believe that Merlin would kill the king intentionally so it must have been an accident or something; he was proven right when Merlin blurted out. "I didn't mean to kill him I but Morgana had Agravaine place an amulet around Uther's neck that made the spell backfire. You have to believe me there hasn't been a day that I haven't regrated what happened that night. It haunted my dreams and keeps me awake at night thinking that I may have completely ruined any chance for the magic community and Camelot to live in peace. It's all I want in the world is for everyone to live in peace together." He finished ranting leaving Gwaine feeling bad that he brought the subject up as a way to get Merlin to tell the truth about the old man.

Squatting down next to Merlin, Gwaine though his arm around him as a half hug in the attempt to comfort the warlock. It worked to a degree as Merlin dropped the pot to the ground and turned to Gwaine with a frightened look on his face. Before he could say anything Gwaine beat him to the punch line by saying. "I believe you Merlin and I wouldn't tell anyone about any of this without consulting you first. I just don't see you as an evil sorcerer out to kill people as you are the most kind and gentle person I know magic or no magic so don't worry about be turning you in. I do have one question for you though."

"And what question would that be?" Merlin asked.

"If you had magic why didn't you use it to get on the horse instead of using the knights as stairs?" Gwaine asked.

"Honestly I think that when I turn old I'm kind of crazy so it really didn't count. I'm sorry for flinging you backwards in the woods that day." Merlin said looking Gwaine in the eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for my friend, you only told the truth. Now pick up that pot and clean it with magic. I'm curious about what you can do; the big confusing lizard over there said that you were very powerful compared to others." Gwaine asked interested.

"Yeah I'm kind of powerful compared to others, the druids call me Emrys. According to them I'm the strongest magic user to ever live. Plus I was born with magic so I had a lot more when I was a baby then most have in their entire lifetime." Merlin said smugly as he picked up the pot and with a flash of his eyes the pot was clean. Standing up Merlin offered his free hand to Gwaine to help him up from his position, walking back to their bags he stowed the cooking equipment and secured the bag to the waiting horse. Just as he finished with the last buckle, Merlin saw the white blur of Aithusa heading fast and straight towards him, knowing she would spook the horses he turned to run at her before she reached them. He got 2 metres away from the horses before she barrelled into him with surprising strength for the young dragon knocking him down to the ground with a grunt.

It looked like the young dragon knew that Merlin was going to leave her in the care of Kilgharrah for now and she didn't want her dragon lord to go. Gathering her up in his arms Merlin stood up and walked over to Kilgharrah with a huge grin as Gwaine tossed one of the last apples to him for her, which she ate in one bite with a happy chirp. Chuckling at the young dragon's antics Kilgharrah said to Merlin. "She has really missed you these past few weeks young warlock. Now that I know that she likes apples I shall find a tree for her."

"You can blame the apple fetish on Gwaine here who has been feeding her them when we first meet up. Just make sure that you don't take an apple tree from any towns or cities orchards because I think someone would find it suspicious if an entire tree was ripped from the ground and no drag marks were visible at all don't you think?" Merlin said with a grin.

"I will choose the tree carefully young warlock don't you worry. You need to be careful yourself, there are dangers everywhere, not just from the witch but older than her." Kilgharrah warned mysteriously causing Merlin to frown in thought, which was until Gwaine piped up saying. "Are you always so vague and confusing?"

"I am who I am young knight and that should be reason to listen to me even if it is vague and confusing." Kilgharrah grumbled.

"Wow, you were right there Merlin, I see what you mean now." Gwaine said turning to give Merlin a look as if to say that he was right and he would never doubt him again.

"Now you know what I have to put up with." Merlin said with a smug look causing Kilgharrah to lower his head and glare at the two. Growling Kilgharrah said to Merlin. "It's time to get going young warlock, place Aithusa on the back of my neck so I can go without being insulted some more."

"I'm sorry Kilgharrah but this is the first time that I have had someone on my side of things, most of the time Gaius agrees with you if that makes you feel any better." Merlin said as he hugged Aithusa tightly in farewell then placed the unhappy dragon on the spot Kilgharrah indicated. Saying farewell in the form of and apple to Aithusa, Gwaine went back around to the snout of Kilgharrah to watch as the great dragon launched himself in to the sky with a loud rumple of. "Good bye young warlock and knight take care and watch out for each other."

Watching as the two dragons became small dots in the distance; Gwaine nudged Merlin in the ribs to get him back on the road to Ealdor. Mounting his horse Gwaine sighed and turned to Merlin saying. "I miss Aithusa already."

"It's only because she picked up your fetish for all thing apple now. I just hope that she never discovers apple cider, because then she would be just like you then." Merlin shot back glaring at the knight as if to say think about it and die. This caused Gwaine to laugh out loud before saying. "I would never do that; I wouldn't want a drunken dragon to destroy any tavern so don't worry. Now let's try to get a few hours of riding in before we stop again."

And with that they both set of at a gallop in the direction of Ealdor not realizing a set of eyes on them watching their every move.

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**AN: just got back from a 2 hour bike ride. I havent riden a bike in ages and I'm a little sore. On the bright side the OZ Comic Con is in Perth this weekend and I'm GOING! :P See you soon and dont forget to review.**

**Mushushy.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

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Merlin and Gwaine had a fairly ordinary ride stopping for a quick rest for the horses and a snack break from themselves. No sign of bandits on the road ment that they reached their destination quickly and in high spirits as this was one of the only times that they went out and wasn't attacked by them. Maybe Merlin was right about not wearing the bright red Camelot capes as it seems to attract every enemy to their position. The only downer of the day was that Merlin was really worried about his mother and grew silent when they reached the outskirts of Ealdor which was around the beginning of lunch. Gwaine however in the hopes to lighten the worry and mood the trip had taken went back to telling about a bar owners daughter that he almost had to marry and her father, the tale was meet with a few sniggers from Merlin indicating that he had succeeded in his efforts to get Merlin to laugh.

As they entered the little village Merlin received helloes and hails as they moved towards his childhood house. Gwaine was not surprised at all the well-wishers that said hello to the young warlock sitting on the horse next to his, as he knew about Arthur and Merlins victory from when they faced the bandits that attacked this village a couple of years ago, plus Merlin was a likable person that made friends easily in Camelot so he must have had a huge group back here when he was a young boy. He would have to ask Merlin later as they pulled their horses up to a small looking house. Dismounting his horse he gathered the reigns of his in one and reached for Merlins horses as the warlock grabbed his medical bag from the back of the saddle and rushed into the house full of worry for what he would find in there.

Letting his friend rush into the house Gwaine brought the horses over to the fence next to Merlin's old home and tied them up in range of a patch of grass and followed Merlin inside the house. Upon entering Gwaine spotted Merlin kneeling next to a bed down on the other side of the room pulling bottles and vials from the medical bag reading each one carefully down on the floor beside him till he found the right one. Gwaine could just see the woman's head poking out the top of a bunch of blankets, studying her he could see where Merlin got his looks from as she had the same raven coloured hair and blue eyes. Spotting an empty bucket on the table next to him he grabbed it and went to look for a well to fill it up with clean fresh water that Gwaine knew Merlin might need. Exiting the house Gwaine saw a well on the other side of the village and set off towards it at a brisk pace determined to take as little time as possible getting the water. With the water bucket filled he entered the house once more going to the fire place and filling the metal pot on top to get the water boiling. He could hear Merlin softly talking to his mother as he worked encouraging her to open her eyes for him.

Unsure what to do to help his friend Gwaine sat down close to the table and fireplace to keep an eye on the waters progress. From what Gwaine could see from where he was sitting, Merlin's mother was sweating quiet badly which were exactly the same symptoms of the sweating sickness that hit Camelot earlier this week. Depending on when it was treated then the person could survive this illness; hopefully it was not too late for her. Judging from the way that Merlin wasn't panicking then they must have caught it in time, this made Gwaine smile at the one bit of good luck for his friend. But that didn't mean a thing out in a small village like Ealdor where there was little help in the medicinal available but with a lot of luck Hunith should get better soon, now that Merlin was here to take care of her.

Merlin turned to Gwaine with a strained smile on his face and asked for the clean water that was freshly boiled. Complying with Merlins request he poured half of the water in a nearby bowl and brought it over to the side table next to bed. Seeing that Hunith's eyes were opened he smiled down at her with his dazzling white teeth and introduced himself to her as Merlin used a wet towel to wipe the sweet of her face. Hunith smile at seeing her son sitting beside her and said with a croaky voice. "Merlin it's good to see you my son, I dint know that you were coming or I would have cleaned up, especially since you brought a guest."

"Mother you know that I would come when I know that you're sick. I would always come to take care of you no matter what I have to do to get here. Gwaine here is one of the knights that I have written to you about; he is one of my best friends he's here to help me take care of you till you get better." Merlin said soothingly placing the wet towel on her forehead in the hope to cool her down. It fell off her head when she tried to get up only to be stopped when Merlin placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I need to clean the house to make it presentable for our guest." She said and made to get up again only to be stopped by Merlin a second time.

"No mother, you're sick and you need to rest and recover your strength. You will make yourself sicker by getting up and working anyway the house is fine so stay where you are."

With those words Hunith stayed where she was and didn't try to get up again. Confidant that she would not get up again with Gwaine watching over her, Merlin went over to make some both for her to eat as he was certain that she had not eaten much this past week and she would need to build up her strength again. Preparing a few vegetables on the kitchen table he placed the cut up chunks in a spare pot, once that was done he went out to the well to fetch some water, returning he placed it on the fire to boil. With that boiling away he made his way over to his mother and Gwaine moved over so Merlin could sit down to tend to her fever once more. Noticing that her fever had risen he frowned, grabbing one of the vials on the side table he turned back to his mother and encouraged her to open her mouth and sallow the medicine. Managing to get her to sallow the hole vile he went back to tending her fever, hoping that the medicine will bring it down to normal.

While Merlin tended to his mother Gwaine watched the broth boil and cook away till it was ready, giving Merlin time with his mother he took the pot of the fire and doled it out into bowls. Taking Hunith's bowl over to Merlin he received a thanks and returned to eat his at the table, he watched as Merlin feed his mother thinking that he really hoped that she got better. At least they didn't have to worry about that sorcerer Jace coming back and coursing trouble or worse. Gwaine had to admit that Hunith was one hell of a woman; even though she is very sick she still had the strength to tell Gwaine about how Merlin was when he was little. Of cause when Gwaine let slip that he knew about Merlin's magic she went straight to threatening him with bodily harm until he assured her that he would not tell a single soul about it, luckily Merlin had gone outside to get some water for the broth that he was making, so he didn't see or hear that conversation. Gwaine could see where Merlin got his kindness from.

After lunch was done Gwaine went back to watching over Hunith as Merlin went to get some water to wash the dishes. He was gone a few minutes when he came barrelling back in to the house in a panic, spotting Gwaine sitting there he made a beeline straight form him. Thinking that there was something really wrong Gwaine stood up and made his way over to his friend, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders in the effort to calm him down. Gwaine asked calmly. "What's wrong?"

"Kilgharrah told me that Aithusa ran off somewhere and has been following us since we left the clearing this morning, so she's probably heading this way. What if some villagers spot her and word gets back to Camelot about a dragon in this area, Arthur would want to investigate it meaning that he would come and visit here where I would be trying to hide Aithusa." Merlin said in a panic.

"Merlin, mate you need to calm down, there would be very little chance that Aithusa will be spotted, she's the size of a small cat." Gwaine reassured him.

No sooner that Gwaine had said this there was a loud scream piercing the air outside the house. It looked like he was dead wrong as they rushed out spotting the hysterical woman screeching and pointing to the little white dragon that was inspecting an upturned bucket near the well. She raised her head suddenly and sniffed the air as if there was something she was searching for. Gwaine hoped that she would not come straight at them, but they weren't as lucky as she spotted them and came bounding over. Thinking on his feet Gwaine grabbed a couple of apples on a nearby pile and ran straight at her hoping that he could lead her out of the town so he could smuggle her in later. He would hate to think about the dragon getting hurt because some villager was scared of what they don't know.

The villagers knew that Gwaine was one of the knights of Camelot so they kept out of the way as he ran at the dragon. Gwaine hoped that Aithusa would follow him if she saw the apples that he picked up, he ran up to her taking his sword out of his sheath and pointed it at her trying to trick the villages that he would try to kill the dragon when he was trying to do the exact opposite. As he got closer Aithusa spotted the apples and perked up letting out a series of happy sounding chirps, she would defiantly follow him now that she saw them. On the pretence of leading her in the woods where her flying ability would be hampered by the trees in reality he would try to hide her from harm.

Now the he managed to get her out of the village he had to try to smuggle her back in with the entire village's coming up to him asking if he killed the dragon. Looking down at the dragon at his feet he decided to hide her under his shirt, it would look like he had gained a few ponds but hopefully no one would look too closely. Picking up Aithusa he gave her the apples and explained what he wanted her to do and he assumed that she understood as she jumped down on the ground, clambered up his leg and under his shirt, wrapping herself around his body, where she became still. Looking around Gwaine saw a berry bush and picked a few, rubbing the berries on his sword to make it look like he killed the dragon. Turning back to Ealdor he started walking back hoping that this trick will work, for both the dragon and Merlin sake.

Upon entering the village Gwaine saw the village men armed with a number of sharp looking objects in their hands. Locating the worried looking warlock he saw that Merlin's eyes were locked on the bloody sword in his hands. Gwaine couldn't do anything as his friend looked at him with horror shaking his head in denial and turned to run back into his house. The village's all crowded around Gwaine asking how he killed the beast, was it really a dragon and was he hurt anywhere. All Gwaine wanted to do was run to his best friend and tell him what had happened but it was half an hour till he could excuse himself from the crowd and enter the house.

As soon as he entered he was confronted to an upset Merlin who had tears in his eyes, seeing that Gwaine had entered Merlin rushed at him angrily shouting. "You killed her, she was only a baby, and she was innocent. I thought that I knew you but apparently I don't. Just leave, go back to Camelot before I do something that I regret."

"Listen mate I…" Gwaine started to say but was cut off by Merlin.

"I don't care what you have to say! YOU murdered Aithusa! I don't ever want to see you again. I don't care if you tell Arthur My secret and come with an army to drag me back to Camelot to burn me at the stake, I want you OUT NOW!" He bellowed.

Gwaine stayed where he was stunned at the anger rolling off Merlin, it kind of hurt that Merlin would think that he had kill the little dragon but what hurt the most was that he thought that he was going back to Camelot and tell Arthur the truth about Merlin. Before he was able to say anything else an unhappy chirping began before the lump underneath his shirt moved causing Merlin to take a step back in surprise. Merlin's surprise then morphed into happiness as Aithusa's snout became visible at the bottom of Gwaine shirt followed by the rest of her as she ploughed into Merlin. After a minute of happy chirps and many hugs Merlin turned back to Gwaine with a massive smile on his face. Holding out an apple for Aithusa Merlin said to Gwaine in a soft voice. "I'm so sorry, I kind of snapped when I saw the blood on the blade, I really thought that you had killed her. If there is anything that I can do to make up for it I will."

"I want to say right now that I would never ever harm her, she has an apple fetish like me, plus you're my best friend no matter what happens. I honestly thought that you would have noticed the way that I looked fatter than I was ten minutes prior." Gwaine said chuckling.

"I would never call you fat, unless your names Arthur." Merlin said with a faint smile.

"Just tell me one thing, if you're supposed to be a dragon lord can't you talk to Aithusa in your mind like Kilgharrah?" Gwaine asked.

"She's too young to understand." Merlin sighed scratching her behind her head.

"When do you think she would be old enough to speak because it would make things so much easier to communicate?" Gwaine asked.

"Kilgharrah said that she should develop the ability to speak in the next year or so. Can you hold her while I check on my mother?"

"Sure." Gwaine agreed taking Aithusa into his arms as Merlin went over to the still sleeping Hunith. It seemed that she missed the whole misunderstanding that occurred, maybe that was a good thing and Gwaine would hate to get on her bad side. _Hopefully these two weeks could pass without any more trouble, like that was going to happen, now what can we do with this young dragon._ Gwaine thought to himself. As long as she can be hidden form the rest of the village then it should be alright in the end.

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**AN: Hello again. Let me start by saying thank you to those that reviewed on the last chapter. I had the best weekend! I met some of my favourite actors at the comic con in Perth. I had Jason Mamoa's hand on my waist and Richard Dean Anderson's hand on my shoulder. I can honestly say that I have never been tongue tied until that day. I can't wait for supernova when ****Eoin Macken comes to Perth. YAY! I should have the next chapter out on scheduled so until then, please enjoy and review.**

**Mushushy.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**I decided to do this chapter in George's point of view for most of it as it will be apparent later in the chapter. Plus it gets his view on things.**

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George's week had started with the best news; he was to serve the king for the next few weeks as his manservant. It was all the he lived for, his dream come true, maybe if he did a really perfect job then he will be Arthur's manservant all the time. Sometimes he really didn't understand how someone like Merlin was still working for the king. As far as he could tell Merlin skipped out on a number of chores to go to the tavern, that was the rumour going around the castle last month, if he were the king then he would of sacked Merlin months ago. But what he could tell was that King Arthur and Merlin were friends, he caught on to that when Merlin was missing and Arthur refuse to believe that he was dead, of cause he was right in the end and then George was demoted back to serving some noble. The only upside to those couple of days was that the king laughed about his brass jokes some much he had to leave the room all of a sudden.

George figured that he would only be serving him till Merlin got back on his feet after the sorcerer attacked him but after the wonderful news that he would be serving the king for the next couple of weeks George had a restless night in anticipation. The first few hours as the king's manservant went without fault, George started the long list of chores that the king gave him after he returned form walking the king's dogs. George was determined to do the best he can do and as fast as he can do so he could be right back at the Kings side in case he was needed. All was going well; he had finished his chores from the morning's list in record time and went to find the King.

Thinking about where the king would be, he remembered that he might go visit Merlin down in the Physicians chambers so he headed that way. George rounded a corner close to the chambers; he stopped suddenly outside a nearby chamber door hearing the voice of both the King and Sir Gwaine talking. Being the patient servant, George decided to wait outside and not interrupt the conversation. It was the polite thing to do of cause.

The conversation didn't last long and the chamber door opened to reveal a startled knight and king looking straight at him. So he did the normal thing of explaining that he had finished the assigned chores, completely missing the look that passed between the stunned two. Sir Gwaine excused himself and left leaving an annoyed looking King standing there in front of him. Luckily George didn't have to wait long for the king to assign more tasks for him to complete, which he did with the same speed as the earlier ones. All along thinking the same thought though out that morning. _This is going to be a great two weeks._ George bowed and left the king to complete the rather large list of tasks in record time.

The day went downhill from there, Sir Gwaine and Merlin left leaving the king and knights in an unhappy mood. They took their turns on the training dummy and between themselves; this was where George saw them next. Making his way over to the king, George watched out for the big puddles of mud that were littered around the training ground. He made it to the king and knights without getting any mud on top of his boots. King Arthur and the knights were facing away from him and didn't see George arrive and stand patiently behind them waiting for them to notice him.

George was unprepared for what happened when the King turned around with the knights laughing at some joke, upon seeing that George was standing there, the king let out a very kingly screech and flailed backwards into the knights, sending them all tumbling down into the rather large mud puddle. The field went deadly silent as all eyes turned towards the muddy King and Knights; they were waiting for the yelling to begin. Strangely it never came, all that could be heard was the squelching sound as the trio struggled to stand up. Seeing that they were going to need help to stand on the slippery ground George rushed forwards in the hope to catch the king before he fell back down.

King Arthur had other plans; he used the knights as leverage and managed to get out of the mud and back onto solid ground. The knights managed to get out with the help of the king. Then the attention was back onto George who was still waiting for the king to yell at him. It never came. Instead the king was silently marching away from him towards the citadel. Thinking that it was his entire fault George started to follow him knowing that the king would need a bath to get rid of the mud that he was covered with. Apparently it was on the king's mind to as he bellowed at George to get a hot bath ready by the time that he returned to his chambers which sent George into a rush to do his masters bidding.

All of which me managed in record time, unfortunately the king was late. So after waiting for him about half an hour George went to find him before the water got too cold to bathe in. George ran into Sir Leon just around the corner from Arthur's chambers and asked frantically if he had seen the king, he had not so George bowed and left in search for the missing king. After roaming around the castle in search of the king he wandered on to a trial of mud and decided to follow it. It would be a good chance that it would be the kings or at least one of the knights that knew where he went after the training session. As luck would have it, it was the king's tracks that he was following, which led to a nearby unused chamber. Again being polite George waited outside the door for the conversation to finish and the people inside the room to exit. While waiting for the conversation to die down George wondered what he should make for the king for dinner. If Merlin's advice should be taken seriously then he should make King Arthur a lighter meal, especially if the king really was on that diet, he chose to ignore the advice as the king needed his strength more then he needed to lose weight. At least he didn't have to ponder that thought for long as the king opened the door, and stood there with a shocked look on his face.

So he cleared his throat and said. "Sire, I'm sorry for the incident on the training field, your bath is ready for you in your chamber and the tasks that you have set me earlier this morning, was there anything else?"

Arthur's' answer was a quick. "Yes, I want you to go to the library and get the blueprints for the city's foundation and the walls and bring them to the council chambers as soon as you can."

George bowed and left to do what he was told all the time wondering why some of the knights were sniggering at as they stood in the background. The day went fast after that and George was happy to have an early evening as the day had been an exhausting one. The next couple of days continued at a quick pace which began to tire George out. He kind of got were Merlin was coming from when he said that the king worked him in to the ground, but hey he is the king.

The fourth day of working for the king began as usual, the early morning wakening of the king, serving his breakfast as he set a large list of chores to do that morning. As he went about his day, he didn't notice a man following him in the shadows. It was almost the King's dinner time so George rushed to the kitchen to grab the meal prepared for the king and queen and made his way up to the royal chambers to set it up. Opening the door was tough with no hands free but he managed it without dropping a single item, moving over to the dining table, he placed the dishes in the correct spot and went to get the drinks and cutlery. He was only gone for 5 minutes, so he was surprised to come back to a dark room. All the lights had been extinguished, so George carefully walked to the nearest one and began to light all the candles again. George was only at his second candle when one of the shadows in the corner of his eyes moved.

Startled George spun around to face whoever it was. Thinking that it was the king he bowed and said. "I'm sorry sire, the candles were lit earlier and I don't know what happened to them, I was only gone for a few minutes and I came back and they were out. I should have them lit for your dinner sire."

"Are you the king's manservant?" asked a voice that was _not_ the kingcausing George to take a step backwards towards the chamber door. Unsure who the man was and what his intention was George answered slowly saying. "I am at…."

George never fished answering as the man leaped forward with a sword in his hands shouting "DIE EMRYS!"

Not wanting to get impaled by the sword George reached for the nearest thing in the hopes to block the attack which happened to be the rather large silver candle stick holder. Bringing it up in time to block the sword George franticly said. "My names not Emrys it's George I don't know who Emrys is you must believe me."

"You fit the description and you said that you were the king's manservant so there for you are Emrys. Your uncle wanted you to die painfully." The shadow man said determinedly swinging the sword harder than the first time knocking the candle stick holder out of George's hands leaving him defenceless. Luck was on George's side as Arthur burst through the door with his sword in his hands prepared to defend against the next attack. Knowing that he was outmatched the assassin turned on his heels and jumped out the open window. King Arthur rushed past George towards the window and peered out trying to spot the assassin, not seeing anything down below Arthur looked up and saw a shadow disappearing over the eve of the roof.

George was watching stunned as the king rushed back to the chamber door and shouted for the guards to sound the warning bell and that they have an intruder. The King then went to see if _he_ was alright but all George was able to do was nod slowly till everything went burry and he tilled over in a dead faint. As George came to he found that he was lying flat on his back on the patient bed in the physician's chambers with the Queen reading a book on a nearby chair. Remembering his manners George jumped right up and bowed to the Queen knowing that she was watching over him while he was unconscious, he was very honoured that she did. Seeing that George was awake and bowing in front of her she put down the book and said smiling. "Please sit back down George I don't want you to faint again, you're lucky that Arthur caught you before you hit your head. I think that the shock of getting attacked by the assassin is what caused you to faint. So just rest easy for now."

"But your majesty you haven't had your dinner yet, let me get it for you." He said walking towards the door. Before he managed two steps she was in front of him guiding him back to the bed saying. "It's alright I can get my own dinner along with Arthur's so don't worry, just stay here and relax. There are a couple of guards outside to make sure that the assassin doesn't come back and harm you and Arthur will want to know what happened, he only heard the last bit of the conversation. Did you want anything?"

"No thankyou your majesty. I am fine." George replied in a small voice. He couldn't believe that the Queen was asking if he wanted anything. Giving one last smile to him the queen left the room leaving George alone.

* * *

The assassin from the shadows was furious, he had never failed to kill the target on the first time he tried, how dare that King Arthur interrupt. Now the whole castle will be on alert including Emrys which will make killing him harder. What he didn't get was why that manservant was denying who he really was. Not that he cared he was still getting payed by the guy's uncle, the very rich uncle. He will try again in a couple of days when the heat has died down and the security was put back to normal. Two days and that manservant will be dead.

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**AN: Hello to all, it finally rained here in Perth, not the light shower but the really heavy downpour which was accompanied with a nice thunder storm. :P **

**The even better thing was that I was stuck under a tree in a park when the downpour started so by the time I walked home I was soaked to the bone but happy. Now it's back to sunshine though out the week. The police helicopter is circling the suburb right now for some reason and is driving me mad from the noise. Hopefully they will go away soon. Anyway there is my rant for the week see you soon.**

**Mushushy.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**The chapter is in Merlin's point of view. So any thoughts that are in italics are Merlin's.**

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As Hunith lay on the bed sound asleep with the small dragon curled up next to her, Merlin went about cleaning the house thinking about the previous evening. Gwaine had gave him a major scare making him believe that Aithusa was dead, he didn't know what he would have done to the knight if it was true. But now he had the problem of keeping Aithusa out of sight from the villager's because if they saw her then the hunt for her would begin and likely they would punish ether himself for hiding her or Gwaine for lying to them about killing her. Luckily not many people ventured in to a house that held a sick person for fear that they could catch the illness themselves.

Picking up a nearby broom he sweep away the dust that was accumulated there, Gwaine watched him work until he was bored, he went outside to explore the village some more leaving Merlin to work in peace. Working silently so he didn't wake ether of his mother or the dragon because they both needed their rest after what happened last night. Merlin thought about how Aithusa healed Hunith of her sweating sickness, which surprised all three human while Aithusa stood there looking happy at what she had done. Knowing that Kilgharrah was still in the area Merlin reached out with his mind to ask where or not Aithusa had grown into any more abilities that he should know about, to which Kilgharrah said. "Not that I know about young warlock, but you must keep an eye out for any others that could appear with a blink of an eye."

Knowing that he would not get any more information from the ancient dragon he said he would keep an eye out for anything. Merlin told Gwaine what Kilgharrah had said and the knight replied. "I cannot wait to see when she starts to breathe fire."

"I however am not as she might set the house on fire by accident, no matter how cute she would be breathing fire and embers in various shapes." Merlin snorted.

"She can do that?" Gwaine asked curiously.

"Aithusa can't, not yet but I can." Merlin said smugly.

"Prove it."

"All right then." Merlin conceded picking up the piece of wood sticking out of the fire, lifting it up and breathing out so the embers were floating in front of them and said in a low voice. "Upastige draca."

As the words left his lips, Merlin's eyes flashed a deep gold; the embers formed a dragon similar to that of the Pendragon crest. Gwaine was mesmerized to say the least at how the embers sparkled, he wanted to reach out and touch them, but instead he whispered under his breath. "It's beautiful."

"See not all magic can be evil. I just wish that Arthur could see that." Merlin sighed letting go of the magic, the dragon fading in to the air.

"Maybe you should give him more credit than that. He has made that peace pact with the druids, so maybe he doesn't see all of those with magic as evil." Gwaine reasoned.

"I suppose your right but people like Morgana keep screwing up everything that I worked for."

"And what's that?" Gwaine asked.

"Peace between both magical and non-magical people all over Albion." Merlin answered.

"Wow mate, you ask a tall order, there is much distrust at those with magic even in kingdoms where it isn't illegal, but if anyone could do it, it would be you my friend." Gwaine said capping his hand on Merlin's shoulder.

Sighing Merlin got back to cleaning the house and put those thoughts from last night aside as he worked. Thinking that everything is going to be alright and nothing could put a dampener on the fact that his mother would be fine, he smiled hoping that it would last. Just as he was finishing collecting the dust Gwaine burst through the door looking panicked about something. _Great that didn't last. Why can't my happiness last for more than a day? _Merlin thought to himself.

"We have a problem Merlin. One of the villager's is on the way to Camelot to tell Arthur about Aithusa, they think that there are other dragons around and wanted to ask him if he could send a hunting party of knights to see if there are any more. If they come, which they will as soon as Arthur hears that the man's from Ealdor, Arthur might even come just to see if you have gotten into any more trouble. How are we going to hide Aithusa?" Gwaine asked.

"When did he leave?"

"Apparently he left just after I 'killed' Aithusa so he would be arriving in Camelot tomorrow morning and then another couple of days on the return journey, so we need to come up with a plan in the next day or so." Gwaine said.

"Have any ideas?" Merlin asked.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it." Gwaine said with a widening smile.

"We are not going to the tavern to drink ourselves stupid." Merlin said glaring at the knight.

"Just for a ….." Gwaine started.

"NO TAVERNS!" Merlin interrupted.

"One day I will get you into a tavern." Gwaine sulked.

"Gwaine I met you in a tavern." Merlin sighed holding his head in his hand.

"Damn you are so right but it doesn't count as you didn't drink anything." Gwaine said triumphantly.

"It's a really bad idea for me to drink, my magic becomes unpredictable and I don't want to be found out and hunted down just because you want a wing man." Merlin said slowly hoping that the knight would understand. It was a hope that was shattered when Gwaine replied. "But that would be the best night out that I could have. I have always wondered what would happen to someone who has magic and got drunk and now I can find out."

"For the last time Gwaine I will not go to the tavern, no matter what happens." Merlin ground out.

"We will see my friend." Gwaine said with an innocent smile and a devious look in his eyes.

Shaking his head at his friend, Merlin decided to make some breakfast for his mother to help her gain some strength back. Knowing that she should eat something other than the gruel, Merlin found his satchel and found this money bag. He had put aside some money aside since he had working for Arthur so that wasn't a problem. Taking a few coins out of the money bag which he replaced back into the satchel, turning around he saw Gwaine sitting down munching on an apple. Who knows where he pulled that from, Merlin didn't want to know as long as Aithusa did find out that Gwaine was hiding a stock pile from her. Motioning that he would be back in a few minutes to Gwaine he heeded out the door in the direction of the market stall was.

Looking at all the produce that was for sale he spotted what he wanted quickly, picked the items up and gave the money to the bored looking man standing behind it. Thinking that the man looked familiar to him, Merlin couldn't place where he had seen the man before. Shaking his head at himself he started walking back to the house when a voice piped up behind him in a sneering tone. "Well look who we have here."

Turning around Merlin mentally groaned when he saw that it was his old bully standing there with his hands on his hips and a smirk plastered all over his face. Sighing Merlin said. "Hello James."

"Still alive are you, I always thought that you would be killed as soon as you entered Camelot or on the way to it. You look like the kind of person that the bandits would be able to kill with a single slash of their swords." James continued as if Merlin hadn't greeted him.

"It's great to see you too James." Merlin said sarcastically and turned to walk away but stopped by James's hand tightening around his upper arm. "Don't think that you can walk away from me runt!" James growled.

"What do you want?" Merlin sighed wrenching his arm out of James's grip.

"What I can't say hello to my old punching bag." James smirked.

"I'm quite busy so can you get to the point."

"Awwwww you poor runt, I heard that you were serving for some stupid king now days, do you remember when you did that for me, maybe I should make you again. Although how you managed to weasel your way into a royal household is beyond me, is that king brain damaged or something because I remember that you were a really big klutz which tripped and dropped everything." James laughed.

"Arthur is a great king." Merlin said gritting his teeth trying to hold in the anger and magic that was bubbling to the surface. _It would be wrong to strike down right here, must resist, breathe deep and he will go away soon, please go away soon. _Merlin thought to himself.

"Arthur hey. You're on first name bases with the king. You really have gone up in the world haven't you runt. I heard that the last time that you were here you 'saved' the village with the little princeling." James snorted.

_Must not kill him. I really must not kill him. His father was really nice so how did he turn in to that nightmare._ "So when did you move back here?" Merlin asked trying to change the subject away from himself and Arthur.

"My father forced me to come back to this mud hole a week or so ago. I don't see why we had do come back here. I had a great life in the city, I had friends and there was a lovely barmaid that I had my eye on, she says that she's not interested but I know that she is just teasing me. But here there is nothing worthwhile to do or see and it is so boring." James complained.

"How is your father by the way?" Merlin asked.

"Not caring that I'm in this hell hole. He said that this will do me a world of good but I think that he is doing this to punish me for something. I couldn't tell you what that would be of cause because I have no idea what it is. No what I think what happened was that Liam only cares for himself and nobody else. So he's just like you on that sense isn't he?" James said insultingly.

"Something like that, he's nothing like you at all." Merlin muttered looking around to find something to get away from the bully luckily he didn't need to when James said. "I suppose I have to go and find him, he's probably doing something wrong which I will have to fix later. See you later runt." James said and walked away with his usual strut.

Shuddering at the way James was full of himself he thought that he was a mini Lord Agravaine in many ways, most of them were not good. Trying to put James out of his mind he turned back to his mother's house and set off at a brisk pace. Now back to the problem at hand, what to do with Aithusa and the inevitable dragon hunt that would begin when Arthur hears about a random dragon. How would he explain to them his and his mother's instant recovery? Entering the house he saw that Gwaine hadn't moved from the chair and nether had his mother still sound asleep in her bed but Aithusa was up and around. She had her snout in an apple and was munching happily turning to Gwaine; Merlin had to laugh at the sulking look on his face. Maybe they could go to another town for a holiday while the knights hunt. Well whatever they had to do they would have to plan it soon, so the rest of the day was spent planning on how they were going to get out of this problem.

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**AN: Hello to all my readers, another update on schedule, I hope that you are happy about that, what did you think of James the bully? Tell me what you think by reviewing. It should be more action packed in the coming chapters, so stay tuned. ;P **

**I want to thank Merlin Wiki for the spell. Here's the translation. **

**Upastige draca: Rise/ ascend dragon.**

**On a really great note, I'M GOING TO ROME! YEAHHHHH! So excited about that, of cause it's at the end of the year so I have a long wait. It should go by soon.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

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It had been two days that Camelot had been on high alert looking for the assassin that had attacked George and not a trace of him had been found. Arthur was furious that some assassin had gotten into his room and attack George, hell he was furious that the assassin had access at all, to this castle and citadel. So the hunt was on to find out how he managed to enter the kings royal cambers, I mean what if Gwen was in there at the time, she could have been hurt or worse killed. George at least was happy to lose the constant Guards that had followed him around all the time.

Arthur had been shocked when he had walked to his chambers thinking that George was going to make some inane joke about bass and he would have to laugh about it, this was shaken out of his head as he heard sound of sword fighting from inside the chamber. Rushing forwards, Arthur burst through the door with his sword already out of its sheath. What had shocked him the most was what the assassin had said before he entered the room; it was to do with that sorcerer that Agravaine kept harping on about being a danger to the entre kingdom. Arthur wasn't too sure, as the said sorcerer hasn't attacked Camelot yet and he was starting to doubt that they would, maybe Agravaine was wrong about Emrys.

As soon as Gaius returned than the better it would be. Arthur was sure that he would haves some answers for him or at least knew someone that does, so all he had to do was wait till Gaius came back. That was unless they captured the assassin and was able to interrogate him about whom Emrys really was and why did he think that George was that person. Although thinking about it George was only his manservant till Merlin came back, so the assassin was more than likely after him then George. That posed another question, Arthur had overheard that the assassin was contracted by Emrys's uncle. If it really was Merlin who the assassin was after then wouldn't it be Gaius who was behind the hit on Emrys which didn't seem likely. So Emrys couldn't be Merlin so that brings it back to George being him. One thing that Arthur knew was all this was giving him a massive headache that wouldn't go away.

Sighing Arthur dropped the piece of parchment that he was supposed to be reading on to the reading desk and leaned backwards into his chair massaging his aching head. He had a moment of peace which was broken by the tolling of the bells signalling an hour past noon. Knowing he had to go down to the throne room to listen to the usual pleas and help to settle certain arguments between villages. At least the knowledge that his wife will be by his side was a large comfort because she had a certain comforting aura which seemed to calm people around her. The only person to not to welcome Guinevere with open arms was his uncle Agravaine, Arthur really need to find out why he was behaving the way he did around her.

Exiting his chambers he headed to the throne room at a brisk pace hoping to not be late, but hey he was king so he could be as late as he wanted to be. Not that his uncle would be happy about that. He managed to get to the throne room in record time and ahead of most of the council members and knights, but not his wife. Approaching her he mentally sighed at how wonderful he has taken to her role as Queen. Reaching the spot where she was standing smiling her dazzling smile at him he reciprocated with his own. Murmuring a greeting they sat down on the throne and waited for the first problem to be brought to their attention.

It was after the second plea was sorted out; Arthur noticed out the corner of his eye that his uncle was trying to sneak into the room without being seen. Putting this in the back of his mind to go over later, Arthur went back to listening to the people talking. This went on for another two hours which saw a multiple of issues being sorted out, mostly arguments about land ownership which bored Arthur to death but were important to the kingdom all the same. In one way Arthur wanted this meeting to end but on another way he didn't because then he would have to put up with George, which with his headache he didn't think that he could with his sanity intact. He really shouldn't have let Merlin have those weeks off.

Suddenly as Arthur was about to finish up everything a guard burst thought the doors with a tired looking villager at his heels. Knowing that something major had happened everyone moved out of their way as they made their way up to the thrones. Arthur watched their progress calmly but on the inside he was freaking out thinking that Morgana had come back or that the assassin had killed someone else. He wasn't prepared for what the man was about to say. The villager knelt down in front of the throne and bowed his head. Arthur said. "What can I do for you?"

"Sire, we have heard that you killed the last dragon a few years ago, a couple of days ago there was a dragon in our village. Luckily there was a knight in the village and he was able to kill it. It was only a small looking dragon but there is one then there may be more out there. The point is our village was wandering if you could send out a hunting party to check the surrounding forest?" the man asked.

Arthur was perched on the edge of his throne at the end of the man's questions, he wasn't the only one. As soon as the man mentioned dragons there was a muttering around the room as most of them remembered what happened when the Great Dragon had attacked Camelot a few years ago leaving at least 100 people dead and a lot of building damaged. So having a dragon around made not just Arthur uneasy but all of Camelot. There was only one thing that Arthur could do to make everyone at ease and that would mean sending a group of knights to double check for any more dragons in that area . Standing up from his throne Arthur bent down and help the man to stand up so that they were on equal heights and said. "If there is another dragon out there then the knights of Camelot will hunt it down and kill it. What was your name?"

"It's Ian your majesty, Ian from Ealdor." Ian said bowing to the king.

Arthur froze hearing the name of the village as did most of the knights and Gwen. Ian looked around at everyone and saw that they all looked like they were frozen, unsure what he had said wrong he continued by saying. "I know that Ealdor is not in your kingdom but there is no one else to help us as there is no king and all the lords are fighting over the throne since Cendred was killed, not that he would have helped us."

"What was the name of the knight that killed the dragon?" Gwen asked.

"I think the name of the knight was Gwaine and he travelled with a young man from our village. A young man by the name of Merlin, he was such a strange boy growing up always going off into the forest with that other boy Will." Ian replied.

"Were they hurt at all?" Arthur asked urgently.

"No, not at all, Gwaine chased it out of our village and into the forest and managed to kill it. He said the body was thrown off a cliff into a stream. He came back with a bloody sword in his hands and declared that he had killed the beast. Merlin wasn't anywhere near the battle, he was still in his mother's house tending to her fever. But he came outside a few minutes after the kill he looked like he was angry with the knight or something. I left after the rest of us decided that we will need help with the hunting and you having killed one in the past, we decided that you would be our best shot at finding anymore." Ian answered.

"The good news Ian is that I will indeed send a group of knights and the better news is that I will join them and come with you myself." Arthur decided.

"Arthur do you really think that this is wise?" Lord Agravaine asked.

"If there is a dragon out there then it is my duty to hunt it down and kill it, the sooner the better. I know you weren't here when we had a dragon attacking us but even you should know that they are evil beasts." Arthur explained with the rest of the court murmuring Arthur encouragement. Agravaine knew not to take the matter up again or risk the wrath of not only Arthur but the rest of Camelot so he stepped back into position behind Arthur.

There was a determined air in the room as the knights looked at each other and the king in a silent conversation, knowing what they had to do next. Arthur turned back to Gwen and smiled reassuringly at her knowing that she will be worried about him, the knights and of cause Merlin if there is another dragon about then anyone of them could be hurt. Knowing that they had to get ready so that they could set off to Ealdor before it gets to dark, Arthur dismissed the court and headed of towards his chambers with Gwen, Agravaine, Sir Leon and George following behind him.

Once they were out of the throne room Arthur turned to George first and said to him. "I want to leave in an about an hour and a half, make sure that you prepare the horses and gear for about a week's worth of supplies and then come back to my chambers for more instructions."

"Yes sire." George said bowing and then left at a fast pace.

Turning back to the others he commanded. "I know that you want to come too but I want you to stay here and lead the army in case of attack. Uncle I want you to help Gwen with whatever she wants. I shall see you two in an hour and half on the steps to see us off. "

Bowing Sir Leon and Lord Agravaine bowed and left in opposite directions, Leon to meet up with the knights and Agravaine to plan something leaving Arthur and Gwen alone in the hallway. Knowing that they didn't have a lot of time to themselves before Arthur left they embraced each other, each of them didn't want to let the other go. Sighing Arthur held Gwen by the fore arms and looked her in the arms and said. "I know what you're thinking and I think that you will do great."

"Arthur I don't think that I'm ready for this." Gwen sighed.

"Yes you are. Plus you have Agravaine and Leon to help you along." Arthur encouraged.

"I just don't know if you should be going on this hunt yourself." Gwen conceded.

"Guinevere, you know that I was one of the only few that survived attacking the last dragon that attacked so I know what I have to do, the other person to survive was Merlin of all people. That's another reason that I need to go, I have to make sure that he hasn't gone off with Gwaine to hunt any dragons by themselves. I'll only be gone for a max two weeks, if I don't fine any sign of one in that time I shall be back with Merlin in tow." He said trying to make Gwen see the upside to the trip.

"See that you do." Gwen replied.

"For you my love I will." Arthur said embracing her once more.

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One and a half hour later the knights were ready and mounted on the horse while Arthur and Gwen were saying goodbye on the steps of the citadel. Agravaine couldn't hear what they were murmuring to one another but he wasn't paying attention as he smiled thinking that Morgana will be pleased that Arthur was leaving Camelot and Gwen potency unprotected. All he had to do now was inform Morgana of the plan that he had thought of to gain the throne for her which she shall be pleased about. Agravaine's smile widened as Arthur mounted his horse and set off at a fast pace towards the gates of Camelot. Things couldn't be more perfect, except Arthur had left George behind to serve him cause Agravaine to shudder in horror. There was something about George that scared the Lord.

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**AN: see everyone is afraid of George. Sorry I love writing about George being creepy but writing it in George's POV is kind of hard. I hope you liked the chapter and Arthur's reaction to the dragon news, next chapter is all about Merlin plan. :P**

**See you soon!**

**Mushushy.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back!****Merlin's thoughts are in italics. **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**I wanted to thank the guest that reviewed and say that there will be more creepy George in the later chapters of the story.**

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Merlin was really excited about the plan that they had come up with, Gwaine was not. Neither was Merlin's mother as it involved Merlin leaving with Aithusa for a few days on the premise of collecting a rare herb to 'help' Hunith gather her strength again. Instead of looking for this mythical herb that didn't exist Merlin would be taking Aithusa deep in the mountains back to Kilgharrah's cave. Of cause he would have to stay with her until she realized that he couldn't have her following him back to Camelot. Hopefully this will not take the rest of his holidays as he wished to stay with his mother for at least 6 days.

One thing that Merlin wished wouldn't happen was Arthur coming to check out the dragon issues in the area. The knights were one thing but Arthur was an entire whole different problem that would screw the entire plan up. Gwaine would be able to keep the knights from seeing Hunith but Arthur would demand to see and speak to her as he has actually met her. If Arthur did come then Hunith would have to act like she was sick or at least had no strength at all, making the story about Merlin gathering herbs more realistic. All Merlin could hope for is the best and hope that his plan will work perfectly; Aithusa's life depended on it.

It was a day before the estimated arrival date of the knights of Camelot and it was time to sneak Aithusa out of the village without being seen. Saying good bye to his mother and Gwaine Merlin tried to get Aithusa into a wicker basket doubling as an apple carrier and already they had a problem of keeping Aithusa in the basket and also not eating the apples. Merlin was glaring at Gwaine because it was his entire fault that the little dragon loved apples so much, that was until Hunith saw the glare and walked over to the dragon.

Bending down so that they were at eye level Hunith held out a hand for Aithusa to use as a boast back in to the basket. When the dragon turned her back on Hunith to eat a nearby apple instead, Hunith quickly picked the apple in question and placed it into the basket and said. "If you want an apple you have to go in the basket and stay still until Merlin tells you otherwise, then once he says it's alright you can have the rest of them."

Aithusa let out a high whistle in agreement and hopped into the basket and began munching on the apple that was already in there. Hunith placed the cloth on top of Aithusa, who settled down while Hunith put the rest of the apples on top of her. Hunith turned back to Merlin and Gwaine with a triumphant smile on her face which morphed into a laugh at the look on her son's face. Getting over his shock, Merlin looked at Gwaine and muttered. "I keep forgetting that she was good with getting people to do what she wanted."

"Like you mate?" Gwaine asked.

"No Merlin was immune to me; he seemed to do anything that he wanted to." Hunith said with an eyebrow raised in a similar manner to Gaius.

"Oh mate what did you do?" Gwaine laughed.

Merlin muttered something under his breath so that Gwaine couldn't hear, so he said. "What was that mate?"

"I said mothers still upset that I broke her best dishes by levitating them over to a table when she told me not to." He said slightly louder than before causing Gwaine to burst out laughing. Gwaine shut up quickly as Hunith threw him a dirty look, now it was Merlin time to laugh as Gwaine looked like a scolded puppy.

Now that Aithusa was in the basket and not moving the next part of the plan was to leave without alerting anyone to the hidden dragon in the basket. Saying his last goodbyes and good lucks Merlin headed out of the small house with the basket in his hands. It was late morning by the time he said all his goodbyes and walked out the house, mainly because it would be the best time to leave with the minimum amount of people around the village. Most of them would be out in the fields harvesting what they could before winter sets in, the other people would be in their houses making a small lunches for their family. Merlin began to pick up his pace heading for the forest to meet up with Kilgharrah in a clearing further in the forest.

Merlin had managed to avoid everyone when he left Ealdor and was considering letting Aithusa out of the basket but they were only 10 minutes from the village, so he was going to wait a little bit longer just in case there was anyone lurking in the forest. Merlin was getting close to the clearing when he heard a noise of to his right causing him to stop walking and turn to look at what was making the noise. The noise sounded again which brought Merlin's magic bubbling up to the surface in case that Merlin would need it. Placing the basket down on the ground gently as to not spook Aithusa, he edged towards the noise with his hands at the ready.

Just as he was sure that he had imagined the whole thing a figure burst through the bushes at a high speed aiming straight towards him. Merlin was about to let out a burst of magic thinking that it was a lone bandit but suddenly stopped when he realized that it was in fact James running straight at him at high speed, intent on tackling him to the ground. Making the decision to move to the left quickly and try to avoid the oncoming bully, he succeeded in moving off to the left but then tripped on an ill placed branch. Swearing Merlin got back onto his feet and turned to face James how while Merlin was on the ground had grabbed the basket with Aithusa in it. Merlin paled as James reached into the basket but pulled out an apple and took a big bite.

It got worse when James declared. "Mmm these are good apples runt; I think I will take the basket back with me, you don't deserve these apples."

"James please, I don't need this, just give me the basket and I will leave." Merlin pleaded.

"Why would you need to leave, I thought that you would be looking forward for the knights of Camelot coming to visit your hell hole and what about your dear sick mother. I think that you're running away because you're not really as important in Camelot as you claim that you are so you would rather run before you're found out." James smirked as he finished the first apple and bite a second one.

Merlin was fuming when James had finished his rant at him_. How dare James assume that he was running away from his sick mother! But what can I do about the basket with Aithusa in, I need to get it back so that he doesn't discover her or worse hurt her. Although when she discovers that he's eating the apples that were ment for her, James better watch out because she will be furious. _Merlin thought.

"I would watch what you say about me James." Merlin ground out.

"Or what runt, you going to hit me or something?" James taunted stepping closer to Merlin.

"Or something." Merlin smirked taking a step closer to James who looked surprised that Merlin was standing up to him. Merlin was almost in reach of the basket, all he had to do was reach out and take it quickly but he had hope that James was not a complete idiot so he gave him one last chance to give up the basket and leave unharmed. Merlin sighed. "Just give me the basket James, I what to go and get the herbs to help my mother and then you can bully me all you what when I get back."

"You still don't get it do you runt, I decide when you can go and when you can't. I would have thought that since you are a servant you would have learnt to respect your superior's orders but apparently I will have to teach it to you." James said advancing at him menacingly but stopped when Merlin burst out laughing.

"I don't do as I'm told in Camelot what makes you think that I would do as you ordered me to do, have you been whacked in the head too many times that your delusional?" Merlin asked.

"You are so dead you little runt." James roared throwing the basket aside and charged at Merlin.

Being so close to him James reached Merlin quickly and tackled him to the ground and threw a fist towards the warlock's face. Merlin was too stunned he hit the ground that he had no chance to block the hit to the face and not retaliate with his magic. Contrary to popular believe Merlin had learnt a few things from Arthur in all those training sessions he was forced to participate in so once he cleared his head he was able to block the second punch aimed at his face. _What was the next lesson Arthur tried to teach him on many occasions, ah it was attack back if you can't run. _Which since he was flat on the back he couldn't so attack it will be.

Merlin supressed his magic before it had the chance to unleash it's self instinctually as it would probably do more harm than good if James know that he had it. So Merlin did the only thing he could and that was curled his hand into a fist and hit back at James's face connecting with a violent force that he didn't know he had in him. It worked well, a little too well as his fist now throbbed with pain; he had probably broken a few fingers when it connected with James's cheekbone but James was thrown back with a howl of pain.

Knowing he had little time before the next attack, Merlin pushed himself to his feet and prepared for the next attack form James. Merlin was surprised to find that it didn't come straight away as he predicted but instead James laughed saying. "Looks like the runt has some fight in him, and I thought he was just a weakling incapable of standing without falling down. And now look at you, acting all tough and fighting back it's the funniest thing I have ever seen. Are you sure that you are not a jester instead of a servant?"

"I could ask the same of you, my son." A voice piped up from behind James. Both Merlin and James were shocked to see James's father Liam standing there dressed in a knight's attire with a sword attached to his hip. Merlin was the first to get over his shock at seeing Richard, and smiled at seeing one of the only people to actually accept Merlin instead of shunning him when he was younger. Unlike James his father was kind, considerate and always looked out for Merlin when he got into trouble with the other kids or on occasions the other adults.

"Son I want you to go back to Ealdor and stay there until I come back, do you understand?" Liam commanded at James. James being James decided to argue back at his father. "But father I was just helping Merlin here to try and find a special herb for his mother."

"I know what you were doing to Merlin here, so don't try to cover up your bullying by pretending to do something nice for someone else. So just go home and I will deal with you later, do you understand?" Liam growled. Not wanting to anger his father any more than he had James threw one last glare at Merlin and stomped off to Ealdor muttering about things not being fair leaving Merlin and Liam standing there in silence.

Breaking the silence Liam said. "So where's the dragon Merlin?"

"What makes you think that I have a dragon hidden around here anywhere?" Merlin asked innocently trying to look at anything apart from Liam's face.

"Merlin." Liam sighed.

"Say if I do have a dragon nearby what would you do?"

"I'm not going to harm it if that is what you wanted to know, so call your dragon." Liam said.

"Aithusa is no one's pet, she is her own dragon." Merlin commented.

"Can you please just call her?" Liam said bending down and picking up one of the apples from the basket and was about to take a bit but suddenly there was a white flash and the apple was gone. This sent Merlin into a laughing fit at the look on liam's face as he tried to understand how the apple vanished so suddenly. After about a minute of laughing, Merlin said. "Liam meet Aithusa, the lover of apples."

Aithusa whistled a greeting and then went back to demolishing the rest of the apples. Liam's eyes widened when he saw her, Merlin was unsure where or not to defend why he is not turning the dragon in, so in the end he was silent waiting for Liam to make the first move. The silence was broken when Liam said. "So where is giant lizard made of riddles?" _Wait what?_

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**AN: Hello people. I updated 2 day's early as my Easter egg for you, I know it's not Sunday but I couldn't wait. Plus I never have my computer with me on a Sunday. :( On another note if you are Australian then I suggest that you what a movie called Hercules Returns if you haven't already, as it is a 90s classic Australian film. I think that everyone should watch it Australian or not, be wary though that it has mature content not suitable for the younger audience. Any way watch it for a laugh and I shall see you later. **

**Sorry I have realized that I screwed up some names in the last couple of chapters so I have reposted the revised chapters with the correct names. You can blame it on the lack of sleep, top gear and writing chapters at 3am in the morning. If you have any confusion about who is related to who just give me a shout and I shall explain it in full. So sorry, I feel so ashamed that it has taken me about a week to spot the mistakes. **

**Mushushy.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

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Arthur and the knights had made great time riding to Ealdor, everyone was eager to see the drunken knight and the goofy manservant. The mood the last couple of days had been tense that not even the fine cooking of Sir Richard that even better then Merlin's cooking could make the knights and king smile. If there is indeed a dragon flying around then that was bad news, because if one survived then there could be others and all Uther's effort to wipe them of the face of the earth was for nothing. The only person to fight one from their hunting party was Arthur and that was quite a few years ago. Not that he would tell anyone about the fact that he wasn't conscious when the dragon flew away to die, but since it hasn't come back and attacked Camelot he was fairly sure that it is long dead.

Arthur had been thinking that maybe they were wrong about the dragon egg that they apparently squished in that tower a few weeks ago. What if that dragon that Gwaine had killed a few days ago in the forests surrounding Ealdor was actually the dragon hatched from the egg, maybe Merlin was wrong about it being destroyed along with that thief that tried to poison him and the knights. He will ask him when he sees him in a few minutes as they were entering the small village. Slowing down his horse he spotted Hunith's house and made a bee line for it with the rest of the group following him at a similar pace.

Upon reaching the small house the king and his knights dismounted their horses and led them to graze next to Gwaine's and Merlin's at the side of the house. The other knights let Arthur take the lead as he had actually met Merlin's mother on numerous occasions where as many of the knights had never ever met her. Arthur reached a hand out to knock on the door but before he could it opened slowly and quietly to revel a tired looking Gwaine standing there. Instead of them all filing into the house Gwaine came outside and closed the door behind him with a small click.

Gwaine led them a little way off from the house and turned to face Arthur with a grim smile on his face. Taking this as a bad sign concerning Hunith's health Arthur stayed quiet and let Gwaine tell him about the details but Gwaine stayed silent. Elyan was the one to break the silence that had formed over the group; he looked at Gwaine and asked the one question that was on everyone's mind. "So how is she?"

"She's hanging in there at the moment but she is still quite sick so I don't think that she would be up to having any visitors right now." Gwaine answered.

"So how is Merlin taking this?" Arthur inquired.

"He's coping if that is what you mean, he should be back with the herbs in a few days I just hope that she can hang on that long."

"Wait your telling me that Merlin went out there alone into the forest to pick herbs?" Arthur asked calmly but on the inside he was freaking out. What if the assassin was after Merlin all along and now that Merlin was unprotected the assassin would strike. Now all he had to do was search for this dragon and maybe get away with looking for his friend as well. He had to admit that Merlin had perfect timing to go off alone, knowing his friend he will get into trouble while he's out there. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Percival asking. "What type of herbs were they?"

"Eerrrrrr I'm not too sure what their name was but I know that Merlin thought that they were important for him to go and get them." Gwaine said seriously.

This was as far as they got on the subject of Merlin and the herbs as the head of the village made his way through the knights to face the king. He bowed down low, waiting for Arthur to speak to him about the pending dragon hunt that the king would be leading. Annoyed that the man barged though his knights as he was talking to them, Arthur made him wait at least half a minute in the bowed position before he addressed the man. Not giving anything of how he was feeling about the whole situation away he said. "I assume that you were the one that sent the messenger to Camelot to ask for help?"

"Yes your majesty, although it was decided by the village elders." The man replied.

"So you saw the first beast did you?" Arthur asked.

"Yes sire as plain as day right in the middle of the village white as snow and about the size if a cat. It was very quick as it ran around we were lucky that one of your knights was in the village at the time, we owe him a great debt for ridding the beast from the village." He answered bowing to the said knight next to him.

Arthur looked at Gwaine with a broadening proud smile spreading across his face, it faulted slightly as he noticed Gwaine trying to hide a look of disgust. Arthur would ask Gwaine about it when the knights were alone, it was just another in the long line of questions that he would be asking the knight later. He had asked Gwaine before the knight had left Camelot to see if he could glean any information from his manservant on the journey here; it was a long shot that Gwaine had learned anything in only a few days instead of the original two weeks but he could always hope for the best. Realizing that Arthur had no idea of what this man was named he addressed him again by saying. "So you must be the leader of the village if you speak for everyone."

"Yes sire, I am the leader of Ealdor, my name is Stefan sire." Stefan replied bowing again at Arthur and the knights in turn.

"It's good thing that you sent a messenger to inform us of the beast, if there are any more dragons around here then they must be hunted down and killed as they are a threat to all kingdoms. I would hate for one to join Morgana and attack Camelot." Arthur said determinedly.

All the knights shuddered at the thought of a dragon in Morgana's hand, of how much destruction the two could do to Camelot and the kingdoms of Albion. It was bad enough when it was a bunch of sorcerers attacking but a dragon was the worse thought of them all, it keep Arthur awake at night thinking of what his half-sister is plotting for the future of Camelot. The only one he had shared his worry was with Gwen as he held her in the night, gathering her strength and her reassurances that everything is going to be alright, that's what helped him sleep at night.

Sometimes he wondered where he went wrong with his half-sister, maybe he could have helped her more and discouraged her from her magic so she wouldn't use and learn it. Other times he wondered if she really was the same Morgana that was taken by that witch Morgause when he had rescued her after the year of hell. That was one of his regrets in his life, not being able to save her from the evil of magic, he understood his father a little more after Morgana's takeover of Camelot and the reveal of her magic. There was one thing that he would never do that his father did in the time of the great purge and that was the killing of the children magic or not. Dragons were one thing but children were another matter entirely. Then there were the peaceful druids that were prosecuted, he was proud that he was able to make a peace pact of sorts with them.

Speaking about dragons he pushed his Morgana troubles to the back of his mind and got back to the topic of dragon hunting. Seeing the other knights were also deep in thought, probably about the same Morgana problem he was thinking not a moment ago, Arthur cleared his throat getting the knights attention once again. "It's going to be dark soon so we should set up camp close by and start searching for any dragons in the morning, Gwaine I take it you are going to stay with Hunith?" Arthur inquired.

"Yeah, I promised Merlin I will look after her till he came back." Gwaine answered.

"I wouldn't mind saying hello again, plus thanking her for taking in Gwen when I was foolish." Arthur said not looking anyone in the eye.

"I'm sure she will welcome the compony if she is awake." Gwaine smiled.

"My lords don't have to sleep in the forest; we have a spare house that you could use. The previous owners left for one of the larger villagers closer to the city very recently so their old house is still usable. That of your lords chose to use it." Stefan piped up.

"That would be most kind of you to lend us the house for the duration of our visit; you will be compensated well for your troubles." Arthur said.

"Thank you my lord, the house is this way, if you would just follow me." Stefan bowed and led the group towards a medium sized house on the other side of the village.

Most of the knights hadn't realized how small the actual village was. They just couldn't believe that a man like Merlin had grown up here without going crazy. It was just so gloomy and Merlin was just so cheerful all the time, it didn't make any sense. They would have to ask what Merlin did to keep himself sane when he was younger. Most of them had grown up in Camelot or another big city with the exception of Percival who grew up in a small village just like Ealdor. To him it was a breath of fresh air to get out of the city once and awhile but it would remind him too much of his old village which brings back old memories.

When they arrived at the house that they would be staying at, Stefan opened the wooden door to reveal a large room with a with a kitchen table and wood fire to do the cooking on, off to the side there were two doors which led to the bedrooms that were empty except for the bed in each room. Since Arthur was king he would pick one of the beds leaving one up for grabs by the knights. Gwaine was out of the equation as he was staying in Hunith's house to care for her, Percival was too large to fit in the bed so he was out. It was up to Elyan and Richard to sort out which of them would be sleeping in the bed. Of cause Gwaine piped up by saying. "You should have a drinking contest to decide who gets the bed."

"Is that all your brain thinks about?" Arthur asked exasperated.

"No I think about many things." Gwaine said smiling.

"Most of them include the tavern." Elyan whispered to Percival sending the large knight into a laughing fit earning a funny look from everyone else.

"Whatever you do to decide do it by the time I come back." Arthur said grabbing Gwaine's upper arm and pulled him out the house in the direction of Hunith leaving the group of knights to argue amongst themselves.

Arthur and Gwaine walked in silence unsure of what the other was thinking about, alright Arthur knew what Gwaine was thinking, something that involves a tavern and a barmaid. On the contrary Gwaine was freaking out about tricking Arthur that Hunith was still sick, if he was lucky then the plan will go as it should. Reaching the house Gwaine went in first and moved toward the bed as Arthur lagged behind not knowing what to expect. When Arthur finally saw her for the first thought was that she looked really ill and she was asleep meaning that he would stay long as there was no point talking to someone that wont answer. Arthur stayed for ten or so minutes before declaring that he shall be back tomorrow before they leave for the hunt. Shutting the door quietly he made his way back to the house the rest of the knights were at, halfway there however he ran into a young man who wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

Arthur would have apologized and been on his way but the young man had to open up his big mouth and rudely said. "Why don't you watch where you're going you big lump!"

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked surprised at how rude this young man was being.

"Are you stupid as well as fat?" the young man continued.

"I am NOT fat." Arthur argued his anger rising.

"Are you sure about that because that chain mail looks like it's straining at the seams there." The man smirked.

"You can't speak to me like that." Arthur ground out restraining himself from hitting him in the man full on in the face.

"It's my village and I will do as I please, it's not like you a king or anything. You can't touch me you fat git."

"I'AM THE KING OF CAMELOT AND YOU SHALL SHOW ME SOME RESECT!" Arthur bellowed as his self-control snapped.

"Ah I know who you are, your that king that runt was going on about being all great and what not. What's that's runt's name again…." The young man said pretending to think before the smirk returned in full force and the man continued with. "That's right Merlin, Merlin the runt. The one person the world could do without."

This however was the wrong thing to say as Arthur snarled in anger, his hand moving to his sword hit at his hip preparing to draw it to spit the man in two. "You should not talk about Merlin like that." Arthur snarled. The conversation was attracting a few people to avoid looking and walk fast in the opposite direction; the knights however had heard Arthur's bellowing voice and were heading in their direction at a fast pace hoping to stop the king before he lashed out and killed the man. As the knights drew closer they understood why the king was losing his temper and were ready to help kill the man as he opened his mouth again.

"Awwwww is the little king upset that I'm telling the truth." The man taunted the smirk widening.

"You should watch your tongue." Elyan warned.

"Awwwww more of those runt's friends. The fake knights of Camelot and his fat king, so how much is Merlin paying you to act like the knights and king?" the man laughed.

As soon as the man said that all Arthur could see was red.

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**AN: Sorry it's slightly late but I'm sick with the flu and have not felt like writing anything and so the next update will be late. Anyone want to guess who the mystery man is? ;)**

**See you soon.**

**Mushushy.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

******The italics in the chapter are the thoughts of Merlin unless stated otherwise.**

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_Previously_

_Merlin was unsure where or not to defend why he is not turning the dragon in, so in the end he was silent waiting for Liam to make the first move. The silence was broken when Liam said. "So where is giant lizard made of riddles?" Wait what?_

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As Merlin and Liam walked towards the clearing with Aithusa bounding along in front of them chasing a stray butterfly, they were discussing what had happened to each other since they went their separate ways a few years ago. Merlin went to Camelot and Liam to another city. It was clear to them both that they had remained the same personality, Merlin still had his compassion and quick wittiness and Liam his cheekiness and strong charm.

It was clear that neither knew what to say to each other about the dragons so they left that particular topic alone for now. Of cause Liam started to ask about Merlin friends that he's made since leaving Ealdor. Merlin didn't know where to start on that as he realized that he had gained quite a few in Camelot. The most obvious ones would be Arthur and the rest of the knights in the round table. Then there were all the servants, cooks and venders in the markets that he knew and were on good terms with.

After explaining about his friends and what they are like they had arrived in the clearing that Kilgharrah was supposed to meet them at. The large clearing encircled by trees was empty of any large dragon it seemed that Kilgharrah was not there. Aithusa was racing around the clearing chirping at Merlin as she past him only to go round and repeat the process again. He was starting to get the impression that young dragons are crazy and old dragons are full of riddles. Liam however was having a hard time trying not to burst out laughing at the little dragon's antics but failed as Aithusa tripped up over a rock and tumbled head over tail and landing at Merlin feet.

Sighing Merlin bent down and picked up Aithusa, holding onto her as she struggled to get down so she could resume her mad dash around the clearing. Merlin however produced an apple from thin air with his magic which had the dragon big eyed and watching it as Merlin moved it side to side smiling as she let out a small pleading chirp. Giving her the apple would give the other two a moment of peace to figure out why Kilgharrah was not there. They only had to wait another minute till they heard the mighty wing beats of the great dragon as he hovered overhead waiting for them to move to the side of the clearing so he could land.

Still holding Aithusa in his hands Merlin approached Kilgharrah with Liam staying back at the edges of the clearing as he was unsure if the dragon would take kindly to seeing him after so many years had passed. Merlin stoped a metre away from the great dragon and placed Aithusa back on the ground and straightened up to look Kilgharrah in the eyes.

"Good to see you again young warlock." Kilgharrah rumbled.

"I wish it was under better circumstances, but you know I what I need to do." Merlin said.

"Yes I suppose that I do." Kilgharrah replied.

"I know how much you hate having to carry me on your back but it would be much easier than trying to ride a horse to your shelter in the mountain. Plus it would be much quicker too. I need to be back as quickly as I can as Arthur is coming to hunt for dragons and I need you two to be far away at that time so they don't see you." Merlin said producing another apple for Aithusa.

"Merlin I am not a horse." Kilgharrah protested.

"I know that but it is the quickest way to go and you know that." Merlin pointed out.

"Fine young warlock; just this once I shall fly you there, if you tell me who that man is standing over by the trees." Kilgharrah sighed turning his massive head to look at Liam standing there.

Liam was startled out of his thoughts as the great dragon turned his head to look at him, Liam became even more nervous as he approached slowly. Kilgharrah's eyes narrowed as he tried to remember the man coming closer, suddenly they widened with recognition. Coming to a stop next to Merlin, Liam was not preparing for Kilgharrah to snort and say. "You've gotten old Sir Knight."

"And you look exactly the same you great big lizard." Liam smiled.

"I see that you haven't lost your cheek in all these years." Kilgharrah chuckled.

"Sorry but how did you two know each other?" Merlin interrupted.

"We met each other years ago when your father introduced us." Kilgharrah sighed.

"You knew my father?" Merlin asked turning to Liam.

"Yes I knew him for a time before him before Balinor and Hunith moved to Ealdor. That was before you were born, before James was born, it was so long ago now." Liam replied.

"They moved to Ealdor? I thought that my mother grew up there?" Merlin asked confused.

"There are a lot of thing that you don't know young warlock but you will discover it soon." Kilgharrah sighed lowering his head to rest it on his paws.

"That's what you always say, why can't anyone give me a straight answer for once." Merlin ranted throwing his hands in the air and stomped off into the woods in a huff with Aithusa bounding along behind him making soothing chirping noises as she went.

Stomping off though the woods in no particular direction Merlin was vaguely aware that Aithusa was following him but he was so annoyed that he didn't stop to pick her up and left her to run along behind him. Merlin kept moving through the trees not knowing where he was going and only stoped when he ran head first into a tree accidently. Groaning Merlin blicked away the black spots in his vision and brought his hand to the sore spot on his forehead to check if he was bleeding or anything. Aithusa chose that moment to jump on Merlin's lap knocking the warlock back down to the ground breathless.

Moving Aithusa off of his lap, he struggled to his feet hoping that he didn't have a concussion from hitting the tree. Then he came across something problematic, he had no clue where he was as he had never been this way in his life as it was bandit territory. His mother had always told him and Will never to go anywhere past a km from the village in any direction as it was not safe either from bandits or the knights of Camelot with all their magic hatred. There were other dangers like wild and rabid animals, plus nobody could forget the witchfider's who would sell you to the highest bidders.

At least his magic was stronger then when he was a young boy plus now he had more control over it as well. This would protect him till he chose to return to a safer part of the forest, and also he had Aithusa with him, although he would never ask her to kill someone no matter what they had done in their lifetime not that they didn't deserve it but he would never want the young dragon to experiencing killing a person. Merlin loathed killing any living thing whether it is a fluffy bunny or a rabid monster trying to kill him. He just can't understand the urges some people have. This brings it back to his dilemma, why doesn't the dragon just be straight with him for once. No messing around and NO riddles.

He had always thought that everything was stable in his life; he knew his mother, what village he grew up in and who and what he would protect most in the world. But now? After being in Camelot he didn't know what to think about his life. His father he had finally met only to die in his arms after having a day or two, and then there was Freya, the girl that he fell in love with he had only 2 days with her when she was snatched away from him by death. It was like fate didn't want him to be happy and when it saw that he had an ounce of happiness, it would crush it. It was the same with knowing who he was; just when he was sure that he was who he was some new information would come to light and confuse him all over again.

Merlin was brought back to reality with Aithusa alternating between chirping worriedly and growling at the air around her. Maybe he really did hit his head to hard and had a concussion or something. Spacing out was not a good thing in a medical view and Merlin knew that he needed to get back to Kilgharrah and Liam as soon as possible. Aithusa was increasing her growling, Merlin bent down and picked her up.

"What's the matter Aithusa; I'm alright, see just gathering my bearings." Merlin said soothingly in the hope that she would cease the noise that she was making. It failed big time as Aithusa growling became louder and lower as the seconds ticked by. Sighing Merlin started to walk back it the direction that he thought that he had come from not noticing the numerous bandits approaching from each direction. He continued to try and calm Aithusa as he walked.

Merlin had barely managed to walk a few meters when he had a feeling that danger was around, he felt like hitting himself in the head for his stupidity. No wonder Aithusa was going nuts she must have seen them way before he did and tried to warn him. He could see that they were coming from all directions and that he couldn't just make a run for it as there were too many to avoid. They had seen him and they weren't going to let him go and what's worse is that they had also seen Aithusa. The bandits were pointing at both of them and muttering among themselves in low whispers, which could only mean one thing; that they would try and capture the dragon to use for their own twisted purposes. The leader of the group walked forward with his hand on his sword hilt.

"If I didn't know better I would think that there was a dragon in your hands there boy." The bandit leader said.

"And I would say that there is something wrong with your eyes then." Merlin shot back.

"Just hand over the dragon I will think about letting you leave this forest alive." The leader leered.

"As I said this isn't a dragon it's a baby wyvern I found. So we are go to go on our way, it was nice meeting you and all but I have some place that I have to be." Merlin finished and started to walk backwards only to run into bandit. The bandit behind him shoved Merlin back to the leader causing Merlin to stumble over a tree root. Righting himself Merlin noticed that he was outnumbered 20 to 1; the only thing that could save him now would be his magic. Hopefully Aithusa or himself won't be harmed as Merlin made his move at the first sign of violence.

"Where's the rush boy, we are just getting to know each other. So what's your name boy?" The leader growled. When Merlin didn't say a word the bandit laughed. "You will tell me in time everybody does. It's going to be so fun breaking you." The ring of swords rang out as all the bandits drew their swords from their sheaths and pointed them at Merlin and Aithusa. _This was not going to end well. _

* * *

**AN: Hello to all you readers out there. I finally hit 10 000 views YAY! I'm feeling better finally so I was able to finish this update. I hope that Merlin didn't come off as too whinny in this chapter, if he did then drop a review and complain, I don't mind. It would help me to become a better writer. Hopefully the next chapter will be updated on time, till then I hope you have enjoyed the chapter. See you soon. :P**

**Mushushy. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**The italics in the chapter are the thoughts of Arthur unless stated otherwise.**

_Previously_

_"Awwwww is the little king upset that I'm telling the truth." The man taunted the smirk widening._

_"You should watch your tongue." Elyan warned. _

_"Awwwww more of those runt's friends. The fake knights of Camelot and his fat king, so how much is Merlin paying you to act like the knights and king?" the man laughed._

_As soon as the man said that all Arthur could see was red._

* * *

Arthur charged roaring with anger intent on harming the insulting man standing in front of him, unfortunately he was beaten to the man by Percival who in his own anger punched the man in the face. The sound of the man's nose breaking echoed around the village but it was soon drowned out by the man's howls of pain. Percival was not done yet as he picked the man up by his shirt as if he weighed nothing and brought the man in close to his face and said in a low voice. "I should rip you limb from limb. How dare you insult my friends and me in such a manner! We are the knights of Camelot and you should show King Arthur some respect. If I ever hear that you are disrespecting anyone again I shall personally come back and make your life a living hell."

Dropping him down onto the muddy ground the man scrambled to get away from the group of knights before they could harm him some more. Arthur watched as the man picked himself off the ground holding a hand to his nose which was bleeding quiet heavily and ran off behind one of the houses.

"You know that's the most that I have ever heard Percival speak." Gwaine piped up behind the group. The knights tuned and faced Gwaine who was leaning on a side of a house at ease as he did when he watched the confrontation. "I don't blame you for hitting James, from what Merlin said about him he's a big bully who thinks he's better than everyone else."

"I thought that you were looking after Hunith." Arthur grumbled.

"I would but you woke her up by being so loud, I'm not surprised if everyone in Camelot had heard you as you were shouting so loud." Gwaine replied.

"So that horrible man was named James?" Elyan asked.

"Yeah, from what I could get from Merlin before he left was that James was the bully for most of his childhood here. Apparently he still liked to bully him, I saw him having ago at Merlin a couple of days ago, not that he saw me." Gwaine answered.

"It makes me wish that I didn't let that bully go." Percival grumbled.

Chuckling at the giant knight's unhappy face the group headed of back to their house as it was starting to get dark as the sun was setting. Arriving at the house Gwaine said his goodbyes and left for the night promising to see them in the morning for the hunt. Sir Richard who had stayed behind to start cooking diner for them looked up as the knights entered looking like someone had muddied their cloaks. Sir Richard had heard the shouting of the king but knew that the other knights would back him up so instead he would wait for them to get back to see what had made his king lose his temper like that.

The night went quickly as they ate there dinner of stew and went to bed thinking about the hunt that they will participate in tomorrow. Arthur's thoughts were elsewhere thinking about how Merlin managed to live with someone like James in his village and still be as cheerful as he was today. He knew that Merlin had changed him when he first came to Camelot, as he had never turned back to his old ways. Except for Merlin, who didn't stand for any bullying from Arthur most people that he knew would always say that Arthur was right. Or worse let Arthur win even though the other person was better at something.

This was going to keep Arthur up at night as he thought that he knew Merlin but there were so many things that have come to light lately that he was beginning to think that he had only scratch the surface that was the puzzle named Merlin. Arthur wondered if he just asked Merlin outright about how he really thought of him when he had first met him. Shifting to his other side he tried to fall asleep but James's face haunted his thoughts. Was he just as bad as the bully? Did he deserve to be King? It was an hour or two before he was able to get into a fitful sleep.

Moring came way too quickly for Arthur's liking, sighing he got dressed and went into the kitchen which seemed to be void of any knights. Peeking into the other bedroom again there were no knights in the room, frowning he went to the front door of the house and opened it looking out in search of his missing knights. Thinking that they had payed Hunith a visit and went to meet up with Gwaine, Arthur went straight to the small house. He knocked softly on the wooden door, a few seconds later a tired looking Gwaine answered the door. The knight gestured to come in so Arthur walked into the small kitchen, where there were no missing knights.

_Where the hell were they? If they weren't here and at the house then where could they have gone at this hour, they knew that they had to get ready for the hunt. _He thought. Maybe he was grumpy from lack of any breakfast. It was a known fact in Camelot that Arthur was a grumpy person before he had anything to eat and wake him up. The only two people that he tolerated at that time of the morning were Gwen and Merlin. hell even the knights were cautious about going into his chambers in the morning, so they waited till Arthur emerged to train before bringing up anything important.

"So what brings you here this early; I've still got a few hours before the hunt begins and I wanted to get Hunith to eat something." Gwaine said.

"I was hoping that you had seen the rest of the knights? They weren't in the house and I thought that they might be here getting you." Arthur sighed.

"Nah mate, I haven't seen any, but if I do then I shall tell them that you are looking for them. I'm sure their just out for a jog or something, don't worry just go back to the house and hopefully they will be back soon."

"Yeah I hope so, see you in a few hours and give my best to Hunith." Arthur said and walked out the house and back into the freezing morning air.

Taking Gwaine's advice Arthur headed back to the house hoping that we he entered the knights would be there with breakfast ready. _Oh how he missed Merlin's breakfasts. _Opening the door he peeked in and luck would have it the knights were back and Sir Richard was cooking breakfast on the wood fire.

All the knights looked up from what they were doing and saw that it was only Arthur so they relaxed and went back to what they were occupied by before he came in the door. Arthur cleared his throat and asked. "So where have you guys been?"

"We went out for a morning jog to get the muscles warmed up, while Richard here went and brought a jar of honey to put on the porridge." Elyan answered holding up the said jar.

"Honey?" Arthur questioned.

"Yes sire, it's a trick that my wife taught me to make porridge taste nice. It should be done in a few minutes." Richard answered.

"I'm looking forward to the porridge now. Why didn't you wake me up when you guys got up?" Arthur scowled.

"Sorry sire, but I was told by Merlin to never wake you up before breakfast was ready or face the consequences." Elyan said trying not to look Arthur in the eyes.

"Is that why I'm always the last one to be woken up when we go hunting or on quests?" Arthur scowled at the knights.

The knights all looked anywhere except at Arthur conforming what he had said. Stomping into his bedroom he located one of his saddle bags and removed a book about dragons that he had found in the Camelot library before they had set off. Five minutes into reading it Richard appeared at his door and said that the porridge was ready. Sighing Arthur walked out into the kitchen area and sat down with the book open in front of him so he could continue reading about dragons and dragon lords. That was another thing that didn't make any sense. It said in the book that the dragons were intelligent but the only dragon he had met had been trying to destroy Camelot so that could mean that the book is wrong right?

If only Balinor didn't die then he could have asked him about dragons. Sometimes he thinks that his father was wrong about certain things, like only marring a noble or higher and not the woman that you love no matter what her social class was. Then there were the druids that he made peace with, since then there have been no incidents at all with them. Sighing Arthur put down the book and finished his porridge thinking about all that he had read about in that book. Once this was all over and he was back in Camelot he was going to have a talk with Gaius to find out if all he was taught was wrong or not.

The rest of the morning went by fast with Arthur and the knights getting ready for the dragon hunt, half an hour before they were to set of Gwaine turned up with another man that was going to join them. He was introduced as Liam who happened to be a friend of Merlin's. They were all gathered in the centre of the town where Gwaine had first chased it so that they could follow Gwaine to where he killed it. As Arthur led the hunting party he noticed that Gwaine and Liam seemed to be friends, laughing about some joke that only they got. Oh how he wished he was back in Camelot with Gwen's arms around him and Merlin saying something witty in the background.

As the got further into the forest Arthur tuned to Gwaine. "So where did you dispose the body of the dragon?" he asked.

"It's just a little further there was a small stream that ran in that direction." Gwaine replied pointing to the right of the party.

Bring the company to a halt Arthur dismounted as he saw the paw prints shapes in the ground, beckoning the group he followed them to a small clearing where he found even larger paw prints the size of an even larger dragon. What was worse was there were human boot prints all around the clearing too. Arthur tuned to Gwaine to explain. Gwaine who had not seen the rather large dragon paw prints snorted and said "You know that you can't navigate to save your life I said to stream was this way, but instead you drag us off here."

"Yes well, I followed the small dragon's tracks to this clearing and found even larger ones, care to explain?" Arthur asked.

"There's another dragon out there?" Gwaine winced.

"Yes and that means that we will be continuing the hunt." Arthur said determinedly.

Arthur was sure of two things now, there was a dragon out there and he was going to find it no matter what.

* * *

**AN: Hello to all my readers. I posted slightly earlier as its Sunday which means that my schedule goes to hell. On a happy note I shall be going to see the Cirque Du Soleil Ovo tonight, thanks to my dad that helped it set up we got free tickets to the event. Sometimes I wish that I could be that flexible. Anyway see you next time. Please review.**

**Mushushy. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously._

_"Where's the rush boy, we are just getting to know each other. So what's your name boy?" The leader growled. When Merlin didn't say a word the bandit laughed. "You will tell me in time everybody does. It's going to be so fun breaking you." The ring of swords rang out as all the bandits drew their swords from their sheaths and pointed them at Merlin and Aithusa. This was not going to end well. _

* * *

As the bandits advanced towards him Merlin threw out one of his hands and unleashed a wave of instinctual magic sending the bandits plus their swords flying backwards into the trees, turning around he did the same to the bandits that were behind him before they got over their shock. As the bandits struggled to get up again Merlin made a run for it hoping that it was the correct direction. He could hear the shouts of the bandits behind him as they ran to catch him and Aithusa as they ran flat out avoiding trees as they flashed by.

Merlin couldn't keep it up forever as he was starting to tire, he had hoped to get back to a part of the forest that he knew but he was beginning to think that he had gone the completely the wrong way. If he could just get back to the clearing where Kilgharrah and Liam were he would stand a chance. Of cause Merlin's natural talent for tripping over things came in to affect just when he thought that he could somehow make it. Pulling himself to his feet he juggled Aithusa to his other arm and took off again. He risked looking back and what he saw made him speed up again, the bandits were only a few meters away from him and gaining, most of them had cuts on their faces from where they hit the trees and they looked furious.

Throwing his unused hand backwards he let of another round of magic and was pleased to hear thumps and curses as the spell hit some targets dead on. Luck was finally on his side as he came across a trail that he recognized; he knew that if he followed it he would be able to get back to safety. He actually might have a chance to keep Aithusa safe from any harm. Merlin was almost at the clearing when he tripped on a root again. Cursing his natural clumsiness he managed to pick himself up and was in the process of picking Aithusa up when he was tackled from behind and forced back down to the ground.

Merlin was about to send another round of magic behind him when someone forced something hard and cold around his neck which shut with a loud click. The bandits pulled him up so that he was standing in front of the leader, of to the side he saw that Aithusa was growling and surrounded by six or so bandits all pointing their weapons at her. The triumphant looking leader leaned forward and smirked saying. "You shouldn't have run boy but I'm glad that you did as it gives me an excuse to hurt you some more."

Merlin didn't bother to say anything instead he wrenched his arms out of the bandits that were holding on to him and shoved his hands forward intent releasing the built up magic and aimed it at the bandits leader. As he tried released the magic Merlin fell to his knees screaming and clutching his neck where there was a strange metal ring around his neck. He stayed in that position for a minute as the bandits around him laughed and Aithusa cooed at him trying to get his attention to see it he was alright. Gasping for air Merlin looked up to the leader and ground out. "What did you do to me?"

"Aww don't you like it, it comes in handy for people like you who have magic. I find that it helps to keep people with magic in line. Every time you use your magic it will cause you great pain till you stop. Your mine now boy and there is nothing that you can do about it." The leader laughed.

Merlin's insides froze as the situation sank in and he realized that he was in deep trouble, another thing was that they also had Aithusa contained and to him that was worse than anything that Merlin could think of for the young dragon. Merlin had gone through a lot to make sure that the young dragon would grow up free and not under anyone's control. Merlin did the only thing that he could think of; he threw back his head and roared. "O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!"

This did not go over well with the bandits as some jumped back frightened about the spell that ripped from Merlin's throat. The leader however was less impressed.

"What did you just do?" The leader hissed.

Merlin smiled at the leader with defiance and said loudly. "Run Aithusa NOW! There apples are waiting back where we were."

With that the little dragon spread her wings and took off at a fast pace through the gap in the bandits and back to the clearing with safe place waiting in the form of Liam. Now that he didn't need to worry what the bandits would do to her, Merlin set about the next task of ridding the control collar from around his neck. Merlin was slightly worried that Kilgharrah hadn't gotten his message but if all came to the worse then all he had to do was wait until the big dragon asked Aithusa where he was and then he would come. All Merlin had to do was stall the bandits till the dragon came and save him. The leader however had other plans; he advanced towards the warlock with a thunderous look on his face as he unsheathed his sword pointing it at Merlin's heart causing him to freeze as one small slip and he would be impaled on the sword.

"Bring back that dragon boy before I skewer you right here." The bandit leader growled.

"No." Merlin said.

"No? Many people would pay to have a dragon like that so bring it back right now." The leader said angrily.

"The answer is still no." Merlin ground out through gritted teeth.

"Alright, we will do this the hard way after we take you back to camp I will come back and hunt for that bloody dragon and you can't stop me." The leader laughed.

"No I can't but he will" Merlin said with a smile and pointed to the sky.

The bandits and the leader looked up, their eyes widened with shock as a giant dragon descended down on them with a roar of anger. As all the bandits scuttled backwards trying to get away from the incoming dragon fire Merlin was left on his own as the bandits fled. After five minutes if chasing the bandits Kilgharrah came back to where Merlin was and landed next to him. The dragon's eyes narrowed at the sight of the collar on Merlin neck and let out a low growl of anger.

"I should have continued to hunt those monsters for daring to use that horrible piece of magic." He growled.

"Can you get it off me?" Merlin asked.

"Yes young warlock, just hold still for a moment."

Lowing himself down Kilgharrah came face to face with Merlin and looked at the collar examining it before he lifted a giant paw and hooked one claw in between the collar and Merlin's neck. Kilgharrah gave it a slight tug till it clicked and fell to the ground. Bending down Merlin picked it up to get a better look at it and noticed that it had old region runes etched into it all over. As Merlin held it in his hands the only way that he could describe it was that it felt wrong. It felt wrong just to hold it but to have it on his neck brought it to a whole different level. Shivering Merlin dropped the magic artifact on the ground and stepped back as Kilgharrah let out at blast of hot flame which engulfed it, when he was done there was nothing left of the collar at all.

Sighing Merlin turned back to Kilgharrah and said. "Thanks for that."

"It was no problem, anything like that should be destroyed. It is made by dark magic and is all together evil." Kilgharrah replied.

"I didn't know if calling you would work with that thing on."

"It will always work, you are a Dragon Lord by birth right and nothing can ever take that away from you. It's like your magic, even if they try to contain your magic they will never fully be able to. Since you were born with it magic is in your very soul." Kilgharrah explained.

"Did Aithusa make it back to Liam?" Merlin suddenly asked looking worried.

"Yes young warlock, she did. Now I will say something that I never admit to if asked about again."

"What?" Merlin asked

"Climb on my back and I shall fly back to the clearing"

"You never want me on you back, what's it you always say? Oh that's right 'I'M NOT A HORSE." Merlin said trying to impersonate the dragon's deep voice.

"I'm starting to regret asking you now." Kilgharrah rumbled.

"Nah you agreed to it so suffer." Merlin said with a smile.

Merlin climbed on to the spot behind his head and Kilgharrah took off with a mighty beat of his wings. After the short flight they were back in the clearing with Aithusa and Liam, dropping of Kilgharrah's neck Merlin landed with a thump. Walking over to Aithusa he conjured a few more apples knowing that she deserved them for what she had done. The happy chirping that started up again when she saw that Merlin was alright and also that he was carrying apples in his arms, she charged straight towards him intent on eating all the apples before anything happened to them. Merlin would have to have a few words with Gwaine later about the apple fetish that he caused the small dragon to have.

* * *

King Goran sat on his throne with a smile on his face as he watched the Lady Morgana make her way towards his with a strained smile on her face. Goran stood up and made his way towards he with open arms thinking that this was the best idea that he ever had. He had received a message from the assassin that he had sent off to deal with his nephew saying that he would wait a few days before attacking as the guard's had doubled because of the first attack he fail to complete. Who cares as long as the boy will be dead in the end and someone is paid then all will be well. As he neared Morgana he opened up his mouth saying in a silky smooth voice.

"Ahhhh my Lady Morgana, it's a pleasure to have you here in my kingdom of Olesia. Whatever your desire I will be happy to provide it for you."

"Thank you for your kindness but I wish to know why you choose to invite me here in the first place." She replied.

"Straight to business it is then. I heard that you have been searching for the legendary Emrys and I am pleased to say I know where he is." Goran said.

"That is not new information to me." Morgana shrugged getting slightly annoyed that this man was trying to sweeten her up.

"Yes but I know who he is?" Goran smiled sweetly at her.

"WHO?" She shrieked.

"Do you know King Arthurs manservant?"

Morgana's furious yell was heard throughout around the whole city that day, leaving many people afraid to go outside.

* * *

**AN: Hello to all you readers out there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would like to say that the Circus was AWSOME! If you only ever saw one circus in your life I suggest that you go see it too. I found out that my dad had managed to get tickets to opening night and also they were right at the front near the stage. I also found out that the tickets themselves cost about $140 if you paid for it, but we got them for free. Plus free popcorn, champagne and cake! One of the best nights out that I have had out with my family in a long time, the only problem was car trouble on the way home! Please review and I shall see you next time.**

**Mushushy.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 20**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

_Previously._

_"__Yes but I know who he is?" Goran smiled sweetly at her._

_"__WHO?" She shrieked._

_"__Do you know King Arthurs manservant?"_

_Morgana's furious yell was heard throughout around the whole city that day, leaving many people afraid to go outside._

* * *

The assassin had waited for a few days before trying to enter the citadel again when they finally loosened the surety. Another added bonus was that the king left a day or so before leaving the target behind. The assassin was angry at failing the first time; he would have managed to eliminate the target if it hadn't been for that bloody king and his knights. But now that they were out of the way it should be easier for him to kill the sorcerer. The assassin that liked to call himself The Shadow for his ability to blend into the darkness had sent of a messenger bird with a message for that king that had sent him here in the first place.

All he had to do now was track the target and anticipate where he will be all alone and vulnerable to being attacked. The Shadow thought that he should wait for the night till he should enter but it should be easier to go now and hide out till it was time. Not that it mattered as he would finish the job that he was set. Gathering his clock he set off for the citadel making his way through the morning crowd blending in where it was possible. His luck was with him as one of the nobles was holding court in the kings absents or so one of the gossiping housewives said as he passed her by in the market. Slipping passed the guards with everyone else as they all made their way to the throne room to make their plea for whatever was their problem. The best thing about working in a city like Camelot was that everyone was so predictable and the nobles always have a schedule that they stuck to which made his job even easier.

The more crowded the city was the more likely that he wouldn't be found or the crime blame on someone else entirely. There were many people that would hire just him to use his skills; places like Rome were a favourite of his. As he moved with the crowed he spied potential exit points though out the courtyard and hallways. Spotting an empty hallway he slipped away from the group and blended into the darkness of the shadows. No one from the crowd or guards spotted him leave making his way back to the king's chambers hoping that the manservant would be there. But as he entered the rooms it was empty of everyone, so next plan involved finding where this George lived so he could attack him at his home instead.

Getting back down to the throne room was slightly tricker then getting to the king's chamber which he thought was kind of strange but who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth. At last he was back in the throne room with the town's people blending in, thinking that he was going to have to wait to find that servant he was pleasantly surprised to find him standing off to the side next to the throne with the queen sitting on it. The Shadow saw another man standing right next to her and thought that the man looked like he was trying to influence the result but the queen was having none of it. So maybe he was wrong about not staying in the chamber and waiting for the servant to come back so he could kill him.

As the court concluded The Shadow had a plan ready for that night, of cause this was blown to hell when he realized that the servant was following the greasy hair lord out the room instead of the Queen. Swearing in his head he followed the towns folk back out in the hallway, he was beginning to wish that he had never taken this job in the first place as this was the first time things were going wrong. Sighing he overheard one of the maids walking in the opposite direction say that George was annoying Lord Agravaine and that the Lord wished that the King would return and then he would be free from the servant.

Maybe his luck wasn't down after all, smiling at his turning luck he slunk back into the shadows and let the rest of the people pass him as he watched unnoticed. All he had to do now was find out where either this Lord Agravaine or George lived and then he would wait, striking when the servant lest expected it. His luck was definitely going up as he turned the corner and there was the target walking behind the Lord, deciding to follow them, he removed one of his hidden daggers from his cloak and slowly increased his speed till he was only a few meters behind him. The Lord decided to turn around at that point; the Shadow barely had time to fall back into the darkness before the Lords eyes were roaming around checking the hallway as if he felt like he was being watched.

The assassin watched as the Lord frowned and shock his head, then he turned back to talk to the servant. The target nodded at something and headed off in the opposite direction from him leaving to Lord standing in the hallway blocking the Shadow from following the target. Maybe he should just dispose of this man to just to get him out the way. What he was not expecting was for the Lord to talk to thin air. It took him a second or two to realize that the Lord was talking to him.

"I know that you are there, I wish to speak to you before you continue just follow me this way and I shall find a room for us to speak in." The Lord said and walked off.

Unsure whether or not he should follow the Lord, it could be a trap. Since he was a gambling man the assassin through caution to the wind and followed the Lord down the hallway still sticking to the shadows just in case. Once the Lord had picked out an appropriate room he followed the man in closing the door with a small click. Waiting in silence till the Lord decide to speak up on what he wanted, the assassin was calculating all the exit points on habit, but he did think that he would need them because if worse came he could easy overpower the Lord and kill him, thus ending one of his problems.

"Your employer would like for you not to finish the job as he has other plans for the boy. He wanted you to go back and get some other instructions." The lord said.

"And he sent you?" Shadow asked suspicious.

"No I have been here the whole time but the orders come from someone right next to him, by a magic mirror my Lady gave me. I can show you if you like."

"Since when did he decide this?" The Shadow glowered.

"After he received your letter and after he met with my lady, they both came up with the plan and if you wish to know what it is then you must go back to Olesia and talk to the King yourself."

"So you work for the king?" Shadow asked trying to make sense of it.

"No I'm working with the King, with my Lady." The Lord answered.

"Who is this 'Lady'?" Shadow asked curiously

"You will find out when you get there." The lord smiled and swept out the room with his cape fluttering behind him like the wings of a bat.

The assassin frowned thinking who could possibly be able to manipulate the king without the king realizing unless it was a mutual agreement which sounded more likely in his book. The clue had to be the Lady part, so she was a female who had magic and might be an enemy of Camelot as she had a spy in the city rather then enter the city herself. Shaking his head he made up his mind to make a quick trip to see the King to make sure that this was the right order he wished for. Getting out the city was surprisingly easy, as it was starting to get dark which ment that there were more shadows around. Picking up his pace he wanted to get there and back as quickly as possible.

* * *

_One day before._

After her shouting and screaming at everyone in sight except for Goran, Morgana retired to her room to think over what it all means. She cannot believe that the annoying manservant was the one that would be her doom. Why did it have to be him, it was impossible, after everything she had been through it would be Merlin of all people that would be her downfall? Well screw fate she would strike first, and survive like she always did. If only her sister was with her still she would know the perfect spell to cause Merlin suffering beyond anything that he could imagine.

Merlin had a lot of explaining to do as he should have helped her take over Camelot instead of siding with Arthur. The question was does Arthur know about Merlin's magic cause if he does then he is a big hypocrite trying to kill her for having magic when the person who is usually beside him has it too. Maybe she should pay her brother a visit to find out what he actually knows about his manservant. It would be worth being captured if Arthur didn't know, because if she told him it would break his heart.

After she thought about it for a few hours she realized that King Goran didn't actually say that it was Merlin all he said was his description, so instead of going and seeking out the king again she headed for her dresser which held her mirror. She had given Agravaine an identical mirror to contact her if there was an emergency the he needed to tell her without sending a crow messenger. Reaching out with her magic she sent of a signal to him that she wished to talk, it didn't take long until his face could be seen in the mirror.

Making sure that her face was neutral as she didn't want to give anything away she asked.

"I heard that there is an assassin in Camelot trying to kill my brother's manservant?"

"Yes my lady it is true." He said.

"Is it also true that he's been called Emery's by the assassin?" She asked her voice rising in anger.

"Yes my lady." He replied.

"THEN WHY DIDN'T TELL ME THAT YOU HAD FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS MERLIN. I WANTED TO KNOW." Morgana bellowed in anger.

"I was investigating a bit more before I was going to contact you with the results my lady." Agravaine said cringing at the rage in her voice.

"I DON'T KEEP YOU AROUND TO THINK I TELL YOU WHAT TO DO. So just tell me that the assassin has killed Merlin already?" She asked grinding her teeth together to stop her shouting again.

"Merlin? He's not in Camelot right now, in fact neither is Arthur. George is the king's manservant at the moment but considering the boy is very creepy Arthur dumped him on me while he goes off on a dragon hunt." Agravaine explained.

"George? Who the hell is George and what does he have to do with this?"

"He's the temporary manservant while Merlin is on holidays. The assassin had attacked George right before Arthur left the castle, Arthur was able to fend the assassin off and when Arthur asked George what that was all about the boy said that he was attacked because the assassin confused him with another person called emery's." he answered.

"So is it Merlin or this George that is Emery's?" Morgana asked.

"I'm not too sure my lady." Agravaine admitted.

"Right then we need a plan." Morgana told him and for the next couple of hours they came up with a plan to find out who the real Emery's is.

* * *

**AN: Hello again, first some good news, I'AM GOING TO SEE IRON MAN 3 RIGHT NOW! YAAAAAAAAAY. It's one of the only movies that come out in the cinema's here before most countries in the world. Lucky New Zealand and England who could watch it days ago. Now the bad news is that I will not be able to update any of my stories for the next two weeks as I shall be going on a camping holiday as it tents and no computers. But that does not mean that I will not be writing chapters down on paper so I can update when I get back. Sorry once again, I just didn't want anyone to think that I'm abandoning them. I will be updating my other fic tomorrow but then I shall see you guys in a couple of weeks. Bye for now.**

**Mushushy.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

_Previously._

_Bring the company to a halt Arthur dismounted as he saw the paw prints shapes in the ground, beckoning the group he followed them to a small clearing where he found even larger paw prints the size of an even larger dragon. What was worse was there were human boot prints all around the clearing too._

_"There's another dragon out there?" Gwaine winced._

_"Yes and that means that we will be continuing the hunt." Arthur said determinedly._

_Arthur was sure of two things now, there was a dragon out there and he was going to find it no matter what._

* * *

_One hour later._

"Are you sure that the human foot prints were made around the same time as the Dragon's?" Elyan asked.

"YES!" Arthur exploded.

Why were they questioning him, he knew in his gut that there had been trouble around this clearing and it didn't help to find drops of blood as well. He could only hope that whoever came into contact with Dragon was alive, but he was starting to doubt that as the human footprints disappear near the dragons and it didn't look like there was any foot prints leaving the clearing at all. The group of knights had been searching the clearing for the last hour and apart from the blood all they came across was a twisted piece of metal that kind of looked like a sword at one point but was badly melted as if it had be blasted by a very hot source. Arthur ordered Gwaine to pick it up, put it in his saddle bag and later take it back to village so that he could get Gaius to look at it when they returned to Camelot.

After that small discovery there was nothing else in the clearing that held else of interest, just some apple cores in a small pile. That of cause caused Elyan to mutter to Percival saying. "I think that Gwaine has been here, who else likes apples that much."

"HEY I resent that, Apples are the best fruit." Gwaine said when he heard them.

"Yeah it's only because they can be made into alcohol." Percival shrugged.

"It's not because of that!" Gwaine protested.

Arthur silenced them before they continued into the next millennium or before Arthur killed them for annoying him to death. Don't they know that Merlin's out there somewhere alone with a dragon in a forest? They need to find him before the dragon does, because of all the luck that Merlin had it would probably run out when he meets the dragon. With all the knights waiting silently for Arthur to give them their orders, he pointed at Elyan and Percival and said.

"You two head that way looking for anything out of the ordinary and double back to the left after twenty minutes or so and we will meet back here again in about 40 minutes or so."

The assigned knights left in their direction leaving Gwaine, Arthur, Richard and Liam standing there. there was only one choose for Arthur as he didn't want to end up paired up with Gwaine and his apple fetish, but he didn't want for him to go with Liam as they seemed quite good friends even if he knew the other man for couple of days. Arthur wouldn't mind ending up searching with Richard as the man didn't feel the need to endlessly talk all the time, and Liam he didn't know a thing about so that made the chose even easier.

Arthur finally decided to partner up with Liam to get to know a friend of Merlin, for the many years that he has known him Arthur can't believe that he knows little about how he grew up. Yes he went to Ealdor to help save the village from the bandits and learn how hard it would have been to survive in such an environment with so little food. When Gwen had told him of for wasting the food he started thinking that she was so right, maybe that was why Merlin was as skinny as he was; not enough food when he was younger. Not that his friend would ever tell him hell he didn't trust him enough to tell him about his sorcerer friend Will. He knew that Merlin was just protecting his childhood friend but it still hurt that he didn't tell him sooner. Arthur supposed that was what came with being the prince of Camelot.

That was one of the reasons that he wanted to go searching through the forest looking for the dragon or any sign that the beast he hurt anyone. Liam seemed to be a mixture of Gwaine and Leon in personality, Gwaine's joking and clowning around side and Leon's carful guardian sort of protector. As long as he didn't have the same sort of dying wish the his knight seemed to have. Every time it looked like that his knight seemed like he was dead or dying he would bounce back somehow, the rest of them thought that he had the best luck in the world. Arthur wished that he could have his luck though, that would come in handy with all the people that seemed to want to attack Camelot every other week.

The first ten minutes of trudging through the forest looking for anything turned up nothing, but what was worse was the complete silence from both Liam and himself. Arthur didn't know what to say to the older man as he was kind of intimidated by him; not that he would ever admit it. Luckily it seemed that the other man had no intention in starting a conversation any time soon which suited Arthur just fine. However what they stumbled onto next would break that.

Entering a small clearing Arthur drew his sword hearing Liam do the same as they walked slowly across the burnt grass and plants and what looked like a bunch of burnt corpses. Arthur could see where the dragon had burst through the tree tops breaking the trees and their branches. So the dragon had been here and killed quite a few people, maybe he was wrong about the intelligence of dragons, maybe his father was right after all. Although until he found out whom these corpses were Arthur would still be wary as to the dragon, maybe the people were bandits or something. Arthur would have to return to the village and ask if there were any groups missing in the area.

After looking around the burnt clearing both Liam and Arthur counted around twenty burnt corpses scattered around all looked like that they were armed with either swords or spears. Liam pointed out where the group had entered as there were deep boot prints in the ground as if they were running, probably from the dragon. They both wondered if anyone had survived this slotter, sighing Arthur turned back to Liam knowing that they needed to return to the others as they were going to need help with sorting out everything. Marking the position of the clearing they set back in the right direction at a fast pace.

As they were working their way back trying not to throw up from the smell, yes he had been in situations with burnt corpses before like when the great dragon had attack Camelot or when a sorcerer burnt on the stake but still the smell affected him. He was sure that Liam would be feeling it too; he knew that the rest of the knights gag at the scene in the clearing. What was worse was that without even touching the body's the smell seeped into the clothes so in the next few days they will smell it. Maybe they could get one of the ladies in the village to wash the clothing for them.

As they entered the clearing they notice that they were the first to arrive back, hopefully none of the others will come back reporting that they found more corpses out there in then forest. While they waited for the knights to regroup Arthur decided that he put of the inevitable and turned to Liam determined to find out what Merlin's youth was like.

"So you knew Merlin when he was younger?" Arthur asked trying to start up a conversation with the silent man.

"Yes, Hunith and his father were my dearest friends." Liam replied. Wait did he just say that he knew Merlin's father? I wonder if Merlin knows who he was as I'm pretty sure that he told me that he didn't know his father, maybe he was lying to me! What if he didn't know but i found out for him maybe he wouldn't mind if I did that.

"So his father; what was he like?" Arthur asked slowly taking a chance.

"He was a very good man; he stood up for what he believed in even if it got him killed. Merlin is kind of like him, as they both knew how to cause trouble when they were younger. The things that his father used to get up to in which I had to bail him out would make you crack up laughing for hours after the fact." Liam chuckled.

"Merlin couldn't be that bad when he was young!" Arthur exclaimed.

"No; he was worse." Liam said straight faced.

"WHAT?" Arthur shouted in disbelief.

"Merlin had this friend who unlike the other children didn't judge him for having no father in the picture. Whereas most of the children would have shunned Merlin, William was different and believed that everyone deserves a chance to be themselves." Liam replied.

"I met Will very briefly." Arthur stated solemnly.

"Oh so how's he been, I thought that he would have stayed in Ealdor." Liam said.

"He died a few years ago." Arthur said.

"How?" Liam asked shocked.

"There were these bandits that came and caused trouble for the village so Merlin's mother came to Camelot to ask for assistance, but my father who was king at the time denied her because the village wasn't in the Camelot border. But I defied my father by sneaking out later that night and meeting up with Merlin in the forest. Long story short we ended up training the villagers to take on the group of bandits. Will saved my life by taking an arrow to the chest for me." Arthur told Liam seriously.

Arthur could tell that Liam would grieve in his own time, so he would push him into it, before he was ready, especially since they were still hunting for a dangerous beast. Should Arthur tell Liam about Will being a sorcerer or did the man already know, he decided to hold his tongue as he was not sure how the other man would react to that information. Some people reacted with anger or aggression, but being brought up to think that Magic was evil everyone thought that Arthur would kill a suspected sorcerer on the spot without a trial to prove that the person was actually guilty or not.

Yes there had been more of the attacking sorcerers rather than the ones that would stand on his side or like the druids on no one's side at all. But how dare they think that they knew what he was thinking, there must be someone out there that must have used magic for good, how did it explain Gaius. He used magic in his youth and gave it up and he was still good at heart. He really needed to talk to Gaius soon as he was sure that the older man would have a lot of answers to a lot of questions that he had been thinking about.

Arthur didn't get to ask about more of Merlin's early life at Liam as the other groups of knights decided at that time that they would appear all at once. But what froze Arthur was the look on their faces as they bound into the clearing at a run Elyan holding something in his hands. When they came closer Arthur could believe what they had in their hands, there was no way that it should be there and not attached to his manservant's neck like it was all the time. What was worse was the fact that it had blood all over it. _What the hell happened to Merlin?_

* * *

**AN: So sorry about not updating sooner but everything is going to hell around me. You how just when you think that nothing else in your life could go wrong and then something worse happens well that is what has been going on in my life. My nana broke her hip and landed herself in Fremantle hospital which 15 years ago my other nana did the same. Nana A developed complications and died on mother's day. It seemed like it was going to happen again but Nana W seems to be getting better. She had surgery today which happens to be my brother's birthday so maybe the worse is behind us and the future is looking brighter. My updates might be a bit on the fritz but I will try to update on time. Bye for now.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 22**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

_Previously._

_Merlin climbed on to the spot behind his head and Kilgharrah took off with a mighty beat of his wings. After the short flight they were back in the clearing with Aithusa and Liam, dropping of Kilgharrah's neck Merlin landed with a thump. Walking over to Aithusa he conjured a few more apples knowing that she deserved them for what she had done. The happy chirping that started up again when she saw that Merlin was alright and also that he was carrying apples in his arms, she charged straight towards him intent on eating all the apples before anything happened to them. Merlin would have to have a few words with Gwaine later about the apple fetish that he caused the small dragon to have._

* * *

The rest of the afternoon went well for Merlin after the scuffle with the bandits; the only bad thing was that he lost his beloved neckerchief that he always wore meaning he was no down to having only one left. He would have to make sure that nothing happened to it or maybe he could get his mother to make another half a dozen so that he had some spares to wear. He didn't know where he left it but he guessed that when the bandits had attacked it must have been ripped off somehow. It was his favourite coloured one as well; the beautiful blue one that goes with every shirt that he had, making it sad that the only one left was the red one. Not many people knew that they were made out of his old shirts, as he grew older his mother would use the clothes that he out grew and make the neckerchiefs.

Maybe he could discuss this with his mother when he returned to Ealdor in couple days. That was the good thing about being the manservant to the king; he actually got payed quite well considering the amount of work that he had to do. He had been saving all his money except for the occasional bit of food for the holidays but even then the cooks from the kitchen really liked Gaius enough to give him extra who passed that onto Merlin since Gaius had probably eaten his fill at the feast that was usually going on. What he should really do was get a new set of his clothes made that are a lot thicker as the winter is coming and it seemed that it was going to be a very cold one with lots of snow imminent.

Bringing himself back to the present Merlin watched as Aithusa munched down on the last apple in the pile left. At least apples were easy to create with magic which was going to come in handy in trying to get Aithusa to follow his instructions later. Now came the part that he was looking forward to, traveling to Kilgharrah's cave, he loved it when he was flying through the air on the back of the dragon. There was just something wondrous about soaring in the clouds at high speed, yes it was cold from the wind but that was a small price to pay to be experiencing one of the best things that Merlin had ever experienced. He always wondered what Aithusa's first thought about flying was, true that she could only get a few metres of the ground even that would make Merlin smile.

Kilgharrah said that Aithusa should grow into her wings by the end of the year at the most, so until then she would have to nestle in Merlin's arms when they travel to the dragon's cave as it would be a lot quicker for them to travel like that. Merlin couldn't wait till she was sawing alongside Kilgharrah in the sky. This is where the dragons should be, free in the air among the clouds rather than chained up in a cave under a castle. Sometimes Merlin wished that he could fly among them just to get away from all the trouble that seems to plague Camelot lately, he wondered if his father felt the same way if he was ever on a dragon, maybe he could ask Kilgharrah about that one; not that the dragon will tell him the truth.

Saying Goodbye and good luck to Liam, Merlin gathered up Aithusa in his hands and climbed up onto Kilgharrah's neck just behind his horns. Waving goodbye at Liam Aithusa let out a whistling tune at the man as the ground fell away from them as Kilgharrah gave a mighty beat of his wings hurtling them into the air. Closing his eyes Merlin let the sensation of the wind flowing over him at high speed. After five minutes of the trip Aithusa started to get restless, not wanting the little dragon to fall of the side Merlin hardened his grip on her. Unfortunately she just struggled more until Kilgharrah told Merlin in his mind to let her go as she had done this before and was in no danger of falling off.

Hesitantly Merlin released his grip on Aithusa internally wincing as he thought that the worst case scenario was imminent. However Aithusa surprised him as her claws came out and she latched onto the bigger scales on Kilgharrah. In his mind he could hear Kilgharrah laughing at the shock that Merlin seemed to be in. After ten or so minutes Aithusa calmed down slightly and perched herself right on the top of Kilgharrah's head, which Merlin had to stifle a laugh as Kilgharrah groaned in annoyance. Apparently she had decided before that that spot on his head was where she felt the most comfortable; this annoyed Kilgharrah to no end.

Luckily they weren't far from the dragon cave, which Merlin was very excited to see, as not many people had ever been inside one before, even most of the dragon lords tended to steer clear as some dragons in the past could get territorial, or so the book from the library had said when Merlin had read it years ago. As Kilgharrah came into land on a ledge that jutted out of the cliff face just in front of a large cave opening. Merlin took in the surroundings as they go lowering the sky, the mountains that surrounding the valley down below where the forest was thick of trees. Maybe later he could get Kilgharrah to take him down into the valley so that he could plant a couple of apple seeds so that in a few years Aithusa could have a orchard of apples that she could eat whenever she wanted.

Merlin was in awe of the landscape, the valley far down below them was completely encircled by stunning mountains that stretched up high into the sky passing the clouds hiding the peaks covered in snow. Food would not be a problem as according to Kilgharrah the valley had an abundance of both rabbits and wild berries to eat, as well as clean water to drink. The sun was setting by the time Merlin could drag his eyes away from the wondrous landscape, no wonder the dragons loved this place.

Entering the dragons den Merlin saw that there was a giant fire in the monstrous cave giving the dragons light to see by and heat the cave to make them comfortable in the of cold winter. Merlin didn't know where they were, whose kingdom that they were currently in but he was sure that it was nowhere near either Camelot or Ealdor. The cave was monstrous in size as Kilgharrah being the biggest dragon there would have needed a fair amount of room to live in. Merlin however felt so small in comparison. He could see tunnels leading off into every direction probably to other caves in the area; Merlin would have to ask Kilgharrah about that later.

As Merlin was looking around the cave Kilgharrah had disappeared outside for something, after about a minute or two the giant dragon returned clutching branches with leaves on. Kilgharrah dropped them on the ground in the corner closest to the fire in the middle of the room. Merlin was about to ask what they were for but Kilgharrah beat him to it saying

"The leaves are for your bedding, it would make your sleep a bit more comfortable, as the ground rock is quite hard here. If you use the leaves as a base and put you're bedding on top of that then you should definitely sleep better young warlock."

"Thank you Kilgharrah, that was most considerate of you." Merlin said shocked.

"I only wish for you to be happy for your stay."

Not knowing how to respond to that Merlin just stood there happy smiling as Aithusa jumped around the den happily chirping loudly, Kilgharrah laid down on his belly and groaned loudly trying to drown out the sound. Walking over to where Kilgharrah was Merlin opened his mouth and asked. "What's wrong there?"

"I thought that she would stop now that you are here but it just as bad maybe even worse." The Giant dragon moaned trying to cover his ears with his paws and failed baddy as the little dragon just increased to noise of her chirping because no one was paying. Kilgharrah moaned louder with the increased noise, Merlin laughed shaking his head walked over to the little white dragon and tried to get her attention.

Merlin failed and after 5 minutes of chasing her around the cave he gave up and tried a different approach. Maybe Merlin should thank Gwaine later afterwards as he had the perfect idea to try and bring Aithusa to him. What he hadn't counted on was the love that the little dragon had gained for the apple in such a short period of time.

Merlin held out the hand containing the apple in front of Aithusa trying to get her attention to hopefully stop her before Kilgharrah kicks her out the den. One of the things that the little dragon had done before Merlin was there was exactly this only instead of chattering about Merlin NOT visiting now it was that he WAS visiting. Apparently this had being going on for some time before the little dragon decided one night to go and find him as she had felt that he was nearer then he was before.

What Merlin wanted to know was how she managed to fly over the mountain when she can barely managing to get a couple metres of the ground when it flat. Maybe one of the passage ways led down to the ground level that was another thing that Merlin would ask one everything calms down; maybe after dinner or something.

Luckily Aithusa saw the apple and stoped in her tract in which she was heading in Kilgharrah's direction, instead now she was barrelling towards Merlin at a high speed and it didn't look like she was going to stop before she ran into him. Merlin braced himself when Aithusa was a metre away from him; a second later he was flat on his back with Aithusa sitting on his chest and eating the apple in his hand while Kilgharrah laughed at Merlin's situation.

The night went quick after a dinner of what Merlin had in his bag, which consisted of some dried meat and an apple for himself. After laying out his bed gear Merlin returned to sit by the fire so that he could ask Kilgharrah some of the questions that had been running rampart in his head when this all began and there was no way that the dragon was getting out of this one.

* * *

**AN:Hello to all, have had a really busy week running around after my dad while we renovate the bathroom. Between that and running up to visit my Nana who is healing well I'm buggered. Sorry for the lack of talk in the chapter but the next one with Merlin in it will have a lot so. ;P But next chapter we are back to Arthur and the knights. Please review it makes me very happy to hear the good and the constructive. I welcome both. Till next time.**

**Mushushy.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 23**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**The italic's in this chapter are Arthur's thoughts on what is going on.**

* * *

_Previously._

_Arthur didn't get to ask about more of Merlin's early life at Liam as the other groups of knights decided at that time that they would appear all at once. But what froze Arthur was the look on their faces as they bound into the clearing at a run Elyan holding something in his hands. When they came closer Arthur could believe what they had in their hands, there was no way that it should be there and not attached to his manservant's neck like it was all the time. What was worse was the fact that it had blood all over it. What the hell happened to Merlin?_

* * *

One continues thought ran though Arthurs mind as he clutched the blood socked material in his hands 'Was Merlin still alright?' _He better be, after all we have been though he better hadn't been killed by a bloody dragon. _Arthur could tell by the looks on everyone's face that they felt a jolt of fear for their missing companion. He failed to notice the look between Liam and Gwaine. What he needed now was to know where on earth did the knights find this and was there any other sign of the missing manservant.

"Elyan, where did you guys find this?" Arthur asked urgently gesturing at the bloody cloth in his hands.

"About fifteen minutes in that direction." Elyan replied pointing to the way that they had come from.

"Show me." Arthur said urgently.

Elyan was going to continue to explain but Arthur took off at a fast pace in the direction that he had pointed to so the other knights had no other chose but to follow their king though the forest. Arthur slowed down so that Elyan and Percival could take the lead to show the rest of the group to where they found the cloth in the first place. It didn't take long to get to the spot where they found it; Arthur looked around in horror as there was defiantly a sign of a struggle. But what was worse was there were a couple of dead body's around the area, none of them looked like Merlin from where he was standing but he couldn't see that clearly so he couldn't be sure until he got closer. _Elyan and Percival would have told me if one of them was Merlin right?_

Coming closer to the nearest body which looked like he was laying down leaning on the tree Arthur could see that the man was dead from what appeared to be a broken Arthurs opinion it looked like the man was a bandit or something, he certainly didn't know how to stay clean as he looked like he had never heard of a wash bucket, hell even a stream would do as this man stank to high heaven. _Maybe one of the other bandits killed this man as I'm sure that Merlin doesn't have that kind of strength, Percival maybe but Merlin? There was no possible way as he was sure that his manservant hated the idea of killing anything. That would defiantly explain why he managed to trip up right when I try to hunt some game animals._

Looking up from the body he saw that the other five bodies had a knight standing next to each them checking them out looking for their missing friend. He still had hope in finding his manservant as each of the knights shook their heads as he asked if Merlin was one of the bodies. After dragging the dead bodies into a line it looked like the same thing killed them, all their necks looked like they were broken. Apart from the neckerchief in his hands there was no physical sign that Merlin had been there until Elyan called him over to a nearby tree and pointed at the blood that was seared there.

It wasn't a lot of blood but it was enough to get Arthur worried again. _What if Merlin was taken by the bandits for some reason? And he was hurt in the process of trying to escape. Why didn't I teach him more self-defence? Maybe I'm over reacting and this isn't Merlin at all? Oh who am I kidding Merlin seemed to attract attention of all the dangerous beasts and people out there so it wouldn't be wrong of me not to worry a little. I'm sure the rest of the group are thinking that kind of thing at the moment. Why did he have to give Merlin those Two weeks off in the first place, I should have just given him a new set of clothes._

There were three sets of tracks that Arthur could see; one he was sure was Merlin's the only worrying thing about that was there where what looked like a small set of dragon tracts next to Merlin's. It could have been made before Gwaine killed the dragon but why did they seem to stay at an equal distance from each other, maybe Merlin followed the tracks and ran into the bandits instead. Now all they had to do was dispose of the bodies so that no one accidently comes across them like they did.

It was starting to enter the evening when they had finished dealing with the bandit's bodies, seeing as they were still close to Ealdor they headed back to the horses and road back as the sun was setting. It was dark by the time that they hitched their horses at the house, Elyan and Percival stayed to unsaddle the hoses as the rest of them went inside. Arthur watched as Richard started to make dinner for the rest of them as they sat down on the chairs. Arthur pulled out the blood soaked material and paced it on the table just staring at it as if it held all the answers that he was searching for. Liam and Gwaine left to go back to Hunith's house while the rest of the knights sat around the table as well. The mood for the rest of the night was very sombre indeed as all they could think of was their missing friend and the threat of a dragon attack. Hopefully the nest morning will prove to be more enlightening then today.

After dinner they all retired to their own rooms to sleep, Arthur however could get the sight of the bloody material out of his mind so instead he continued to read the book about dragons and their dragon lords. He fell asleep while reading the book causing it to slide out of his hands and land on the floor damaging the hard cover. Again he was woken up by the knights with the breakfast ready and all the other knights up and about, he noticed that Gwaine and Liam where not there yet, probably helping Hunith out. He had hoped that Liam would join the hunt again today as he wanted to hear some more stories about Merlin growing up and hopefully discover the identity of Merlin's father. He was sure that he remembered Merlin telling him that he never knew his father; maybe he could find it out as a favour to Merlin.

Gwaine and Liam joined them not long after breakfast was over and done with, as the other knights cleaned up; Arthur went to pack up his bags ready for another day of hunting for dragons. Entering his room he spotted the dragon book on the floor opened and face down. Sighing Arthur bent down to pick it up when he noticed that one of the corners of the cover was split open, Arthur picked at it wondering why it came apart the way that it did. Frowning at it when it came apart even more. _Geoffrey is going to kill me for damaging one of his precious books._

Disaster happened when he tried to smooth the cover back down, as it completely slit causing Arthur to start swearing. _Now Geoffrey will really kill him. _As the cover split a piece of parchment fell to the floor, Arthur put the damaged book on the bed and picked up the folded bit of parchment. As he unfolded it a number of things went through his head about what it could possibly be, some ranging from a secret letter from the author of the book to a hidden treasure. When he finally opened it up fully it was a map of Albion showing all the cities and who controlled them at the time of the map. He spotted Camelot easy enough but there were some family names that he had never heard of he did spot his father's name written underneath Camelot.

But that wasn't what caught his attention, what did however was a kingdom to the north labelled Olesia. The name that was underneath was Balinor and H. The map was slightly damaged in places and unfortunately it was right over the second name. Maybe it was his last name, like mine is Pendragon. I wonder if Geoffrey knows of this, I' m sure that he would be delighted to get his hands on this. He was wondering if he should show anyone this, the ramifications of the fact that his father had hunted another king.

Arthur was really considering whether or not to tell the other knights about the map as he wanted to see if this was actually real or someone made it up. His mind made up he exited the room with the map and headed towards the rest of the group. Gathering up his courage Arthur cleared his throat catching everyone's attention and placed the opened map on the table. All the knights gathered around it thinking that it was a map of the forest surrounding Ealdor; however Liam who was the oldest person there recognised what it was.

"How did you get this?" Liam asked.

"I found it hidden in the cover of the book I have been reading. I kind of accidently split the cover and came across it." Arthur answered.

"There are some kingdoms that I have never heard of, have you?" Gwaine asked the room.

"Oh see that city there that has one of the best mead that I have ever tasted; plus some of the prettiest barmaids" Gwaine smiled at the memory.

Arthur ignored him and turned back to Liam.

"Where have you seen this before?" Arthur asked.

"Believe it or not I'm a lot older then you; I have been around places and have seen many things like this." Liam replied vaguely.

"So did you know about that?" Arthur said pointing to the Olesian city and more importantly to the name underneath.

The other knights lean forward and read the finer print, a frown crossed Elyan's face as he was sure that he had heard that name from somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it. Arthur heard Elyan gasp out loud and he knew that at least one of his knights would understand why finding that name underneath the city seemed significant. Arthur stood back and watched as the rest of the group frowned and leaned closer to find out what it was that made Elyan gasp and stand there with a shocked look on his face.

"Gwen told me about the incident with the dragon lord and how he died." Elyan said after a while of silence.

"Yeah I told her about that, I thought that she might be able to help Merlin. He seemed to take the death of Balinor very hard. The man did die saving him, but Merlin seemed really upset so I ask Gwen to talk to him, I don't know if she did or not; you would have to ask her when we return to Camelot." Arthur sighed.

"Merlin didn't tell me about that." Gwaine muttered.

"Were getting of topic here, if my father did go after another king than I would like for you guys to keep it secret till sort it all out and get the truth. If word got out that my father hunted another king, dragon lord or not it may make our allies uneasy or go after us directly thinking that they may be next to be attacked." Arthur said.

Everyone in the room agreed not to speak about this unless it was with this group only; they brought their attention back to the problem their missing friend and the dragon hunt. Arthur packed away the map and mounted his horse determined to bring his friend back home. He couldn't help but listen to that niggling voice in the back of his head._ If he is alive still._

* * *

**AN:**** Hello all! I hope that the chapter was alright, tell me what you think. Please review. I wanted to say was that Star Trek was AWESOME! If you haven't seen it I suggest that you do. Treky fan right here :D Till next week.**

**Mushushy.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 24**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**Sorry I had to reload the chapter as I had to fix a few things, so If you had already read this then please ignore. Thank you to Aerist for pointing it out to me.**

* * *

_Previously._

_The night went quick after a dinner of what Merlin had in his bag, which consisted of some dried meat and an apple for himself. After laying out his bed gear Merlin returned to sit by the fire so that he could ask Kilgharrah some of the questions that had been running rampart in his head when this all began and there was no way that the dragon was getting out of this one._

* * *

As he sat there staring at the fire, Aithusa came and rested her head in his lap and fell asleep, After a few minutes of silence Merlin looked up at Kilgharrah seeing whether or not the giant dragon was going to be truthful in his answers or was he going to lie to him. But what should be the first question that he should ask him should he go for the harder ones first or should he just stick to the easier ones first. Making up his mind Merlin cleared his throat gaining the bigger dragons attention.

"Kilgharrah; what was my father like?" Merlin asked.

"Balinor was one of the most caring of the dragon lords that I had the privilege to meet. There was nothing that I wouldn't do for him; and I am ashamed that I inevitably was his downfall. I let him down by letting into my rage and I will remember him for the rest of my life young warlock." Kilgharrah replied.

"He didn't die for you." Merlin muttered thinking about that horrible day.

"No, but he died because of me! Because of my anger that I had for Camelot and Uther Pendragon. If I had not raged against Camelot then you and the young prince wouldn't have had to find him." Kilgharrah sighed.

"I don't blame you Kilgharrah; and if I ever did then I forgave you long ago." Merlin said softly looking away.

"I know young warlock." Kilgharrah soothed.

After a minute of thoughtful silence, Merlin turned back to the golden dragon and said. "What was the dragon lords like before Uther killed them all? Where did they live?" Merlin asked.

"What's with all the questions young warlock?" Kilgharrah rumbled. _Damn he figured me out!_

"It's just the confrontation with a sorcerer the other day had me wondering that apart from what I have read in books, I don't know a thing about my father and what he was. What I am. I thought that you might be able to shed some light on that aspect of my life." Merlin replied.

"I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability's but first tell me the name of this sorcerer." The dragon sighed.

"I think he said his name was Jace or something." Merlin said.

"THAT SCUM IS STILL ALIVE!" Kilgharrah exploded causing Aithusa to jolt awake in a panic hitting Merlin in the face with her snout.

Merlin yelled out in pain and threw up his hands to his face as Aithusa's snout made contact with his nose. The crunch could be heard though out the cavern. Merlin sat there groaning with his hands covering his broken nose as it bleed everywhere soaking his shirt. Aithusa huddled around him making soothing noises as Kilgharrah watched on wincing at the amount of blood rushing from the broken nose. As Merlin finally managed to stop the bleeding he turned to the little white dragon and sighed. He was going to tell her off but the look on her face he couldn't resist letting her get away with it. After all it was an accident.

"I'm so sorry young warlock. I didn't mean to frighten young Aithusa like that." Kilgharrah said apologetic.

"It's fine Kilgharrah; you had no way of knowing that you would spook Aithusa like that. I don't blame ether of you." Merlin said turning to look at Aithusa who was looking like she would break in to tears in a second.

"I'm sorry." A tiny high pitched voice said.

At first Merlin thought that he imagined it but the look on Kilgharrah's face realized that there was indeed someone else here. Looking around for the source of the voice it piped up again slightly louder but still shy. "I'm sorry"

"Hello is someone there?" Merlin questioned the room.

"Merlin." Kilgharrah said.

"What; don't tell me that you didn't hear that?" Merlin asked looking around still.

"Merlin I think that your missing out the obvious here," Kilgharrah sighed and pointed a claw in Merlin direction.

"What?" Merlin asked tuning his head around trying to see what the giant dragon was pointing at.

"Sometimes I wonder about you young warlock." Kilgharrah said shaking his massive head.

"Down here." Tiny voice piped up again.

It finally hit Merlin that it was Aithusa that was the one who was talking, all another step in her growth. Merlin was so proud of how she had grown and was sure that she was destined to have a great future. Hopefully one day she will be able to fly free over the skies of Camelot and beyond without being hunted by anyone. By the look on Kilgharrah's face he too is proud of her as he had the same goofy look on his face as a new father whose child had start to talk.

"So little Aithusa; you've started to talk." Kilgharrah said.

"Sorry human father." Aithusa said at Merlin.

"I don't blame you little one." Merlin soothed as he wiped his hands on the ground nest to him so that he could pick up the young dragon. She nestled into his lap and looked up at him with her big eyes. She leaned up to get a closer look at his broken nose but he shook his head knowing that she wanted to heal his nose. Merlin didn't want her to use up her strength over a broken nose, it will heal by its self soon enough. He was not looking forward to having the two black eyes look; maybe he might try to heal it with magic even though he is horrible at healing magic as he had little success with it on other people let alone on himself.

"You don't need to fix this; I don't want you to use your magic on something so trivial." Merlin said when Aithusa started to look at it like she was analysing it so that she could fix it with magic.

"But it was my fault." Aithusa squeaked.

"It was an accident, that's all." Merlin told her.

"But it must hurt." Aithusa wined.

"It will heal." Merlin comforted her.

"Young warlock, before did you say that a sorcerer named Jace talked to you?" Kilgharrah inquired trying to stay calm this time.

"He didn't talk to me; he attacked Camelot to get at me." Merlin replied.

"He attacked Camelot?" Kilgharrah asked stunned.

"The first time." Merlin said.

"It happened more than once?" Kilgharrah asked shocked.

"On the road to Ealdor." Merlin sighed.

After a minute of silence as Merlin waited for the dragon to work though the information that was presented to him, he thought that the only time that he had seen the dragon lose any sort of control was when the great dragon has attacked Camelot. So to see him become angry at only a name, Merlin thought that there must have been some sort of past between the dead sorcerer and the great dragon. Just when he was about to ask what was it about Jace that made the dragon so angry when Kilgharrah opened up his snout and said. "If Jace is back then people are sure to be killed."

"Not anymore he won't." Merlin said.

"Now who's talking in riddles." Kilgharrah grumbled electing a smile from Merlin.

"He's dead, Gwaine ran him though with his sword after Aithusa spotted him from gutting me." Merlin said.

"So that is why you ran off so suddenly." Kilgharrah asked the little white dragon who nodded.

"I felt that human father here was in danger so I had to help him." Aithusa replied.

"Human father?" Merlin questioned.

"You did hatch her, so technically you are her father." Kilgharrah chuckled.

"I'm very glad that I got to her before anyone else did." Merlin said smiling down at the dragon at his lap.

"So Jace is dead then. I never thought that I would see the day when that monster finally died." Kilgharrah sighed.

"Why?" Merlin asked curiously.

"He had a vendetta against your family or more precise your father. He seemed to think that your father killed his family, but it was dark magic that did it. Jace's own dark magic to precise but he seemed to think that your father killed them when the spell was interrupted; it backfired killing them in the process. Your father had no way of knowing that there were children in the building or he wouldn't have gone in the way that he did." Kilgharrah explained.

"So he went after my father after that?" Merlin inquired.

"No, Jace went into hiding, but he continued to kill people. Most of them families, his sick mind thought that they represented his family, since he can't be happy no one can. Plus it was something to get back at your father; a little you didn't catch me now you have to deal with all the dead bodies in my wake and I'm not going to stop till I'm dead sort of thing. It was a sad year that, that monster did stop and didn't get caught. Your father blamed himself for all the victims." Kilgharrah sighed.

"Where was this?"

"I can't tell you; that you have to ask that of your mother." Kilgharrah said shaking his head.

"What does my mother have to do with his?" Merlin asked quickly.

"It's not my story to tell, when you get back ask your mother about all of this. Ask her about Balinor and Jace, she should tell you as you are old enough now to understand the decisions that they choose and what happened for them to make the choices in the first place." Kilgharrah replied.

No matter what Merlin tried, Kilgharrah wouldn't answer the questions that Merlin wanted to know, hoping that he would have better luck tomorrow he went to sleep with all the new information running rampant in his head. It was no wonder that he was plagued with nightmares though out the night, it only stoped when Aithusa nestled into his side keeping him warm and comfortable. With that the night didn't seem as long as it had earlier.

Waking up in cave was not something that Merlin ever got use to, yes he was poor but at least he had a roof over his head and a soft blanket in Ealdor. When he first came to Camelot, he marvelled at the fact that he had a bed and a pillow, as well as a room to himself. He never had those types of luxury items in such a small village like Ealdor, he never told Arthur or any of the other knights that fact, most of the knights would have had similar experiences growing up. Arthur just wouldn't get it and it showed on Arthur's first visit to Ealdor all those years ago. Maybe one of these days he would point it out to Arthur that most people are not as fortunate to grow up in a castle with lots of food and help for everything.

Thinking about what the great dragon had told him last night Merlin wanted nothing more than to order the dragon to fly him back to Ealdor just so that he could get the answers that he wanted but he knew that Aithusa needed him there for the time being. Now that she had shown signs of starting to talk, Merlin needed to teach her more as he was her Dragon Lord, Kilgharrah had said that it might take a few weeks for her to get the hang of it. In the meantime life for both Merlin and the Dragons fell into a routine as the week wore on; Merlin's favourite thing to do was watch the sun set every night with the dragons beside him. They were his kin, he felt very comfortable around him, he was sure that they both felt the same way.

He would miss this sight when he finally decided to leave. Merlin knew that his holidays were more than half way done and he still had to get back to Ealdor to ask his mother the questions that had been running around his mind for the last week. Making up his mind he told the dragons that he needed a lift back to Ealdor tomorrow. They were both sad to see he go as they were getting into a routine.

**AN:Hello to all, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review as it makes me happy knowing what you think, the good or the bad. I shall see you guy's next week!**

**Mushushy.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 25**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**All the itelics in the chapter are Arthur's thoughts.**

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously._

_Everyone in the room agreed not to speak about this unless it was with this group only; they brought their attention back to the problem their missing friend and the dragon hunt. Arthur packed away the map and mounted his horse determined to bring his friend back home. He couldn't help but listen to that niggling voice in the back of his head. If he is alive still._

* * *

It had been a whole week and they had nothing, no Dragon and more important no Merlin. Arthur was trying to remain calm as he was the king and it wouldn't be very regal of him to lose it over a simple manservant_. But he's not just a simple manservant he's your friend._ The voice in the back of his mind reminded him. It was bad enough that he didn't have Gwen here to confide at, mainly his fears for his friend and the fact that the dragon marks from the first search were close to the bloody piece of cloth that was his manservant's neckerchief. The week had tired him out, the knights probably felt the same way; they had sleep outside for most of the week as they delved further into the forest searching.

The only good that came out of that was that Liam had to stay behind to look after Hunith, meaning that there was not a constant chuckling emanating from the big guy and Gwaine. They had a habit of having inside jokes that they were unwilling to share with the rest of them. So that was one thing that Arthur didn't have to deal with for a few days, now that they were back in Ealdor Arthur was sure that it would start back up as soon as the two see each other. The bad thing about Liam staying behind, Arthur couldn't ask him more about Merlin and his child hood.

Arthur had went to sleep the night before with a difficult decision to make, whether or not to stay and keep looking for the dragon (and Merlin) or head back to Camelot as they had come back to the village empty handed after only finding the burn marks on the ground. If he asked the rest of the knights he would get the same sort of answer, yes they wanted to stay and find Merlin but they knew that it couldn't continue for ever. All they could hope for was that Merlin came back at the end of the holidays, in one weeks' time. As far as the dragon goes, they didn't have much evidence to support one actually being alive, yes there were scorch marks and gouges in the ground but that could have been made by anything. Most probable answer was that it was done by a sorcerer which considering that this was not his land he couldn't hunt down as Magic wasn't outlawed here.

Now that it was morning, Arthur had to make his choice, stay or go. Pushing back his covers he stood up and stretched. He was in the process of getting changed when there was a knock on the door alerting him that breakfast was ready, he gave a shout saying that he was going to be out in a minute. Full dressed he was ready to face the knights with his decision regarding what they were going to do today. Upon exiting the room he noticed that Gwaine and Liam were the only ones that weren't there, probably still with Hunith. Only having seen her a couple of times this week he was amazed that she was still hanging in there, that put the doubt in Arthurs mind. If Merlin had already found that elusive herb, then he would have been back by now, he knew how sick his mother was and would spent as little time as he could trying to get back to her.

Sitting down at the table he munched on the food with the other knights beside him, sighing he placed his spoon down causing the knights to look at him. Figuring that it was better to get this over with he opened his mouth and said.

"I know that this week hasn't be very productive, considering that we have no sign of any more dragons, I have come to the decision to go back to Camelot."

The knight just sat there watching him, the silence seemed to go on for ever making Arthur uncomfortable. Opening up his mouth once more he was about to say something but was rudely interrupted by one happy Gwaine bursting in to the house. Arthur watched as Gwaine swaggering in looking like he was drunk. _He probably is drunk, judging by the way that he was so happy. He wouldn't be this happy sober considering that Merlin was still away_. Rolling his eyes at the rouge, he sat there tapping his finger on the table till Gwaine either sat down or told them why he was so happy at this time of the morning. He didn't have to wait long before Gwaine declared that it was a beautiful morning outside and they shouldn't stay coped up inside all day.

"If you hadn't noticed Sir Gwaine we were having our breakfast." Arthur replied fixing Gwaine with a glare that said sit down and shut up because I'm the king and you should listen to me.

"But this…" Gwaine started.

"No buts I was trying to say, I know that we haven't found the dragon or Merlin, but we have to get back to Camelot as we all have our duty to our kingdom." Arthur continued.

"You just said but yourself." Gwaine sulked.

"Shut up Gwaine." Elyan muttered.

"I'm stay here!" Gwaine said stubbornly meeting Arthurs glare full on.

"I don't expect you to come back with us Gwaine; you still have a week of holidays left." Arthur sighed.

"Oh; I thought that I would have to fight tooth and nail to stay." Gwaine said surprised.

"Obviously not; I told you to watch out for Merlin. We all know that he will turn up soon and when he does he will need someone to accompany him back to Camelot to make sure that he doesn't get in to anymore trouble." Arthur retorted.

"Yeah about Merlin….." Gwaine tried again.

"No you can't go looking for him by yourself." Arthur interrupted again leaving Gwaine trying to get what he wanted to say out loud.

"I wasn't going…"Gwaine began.

"We all know you were." Arthur argued looking at the other knights for support.

A small knock sounded at their front door shutting up Arthur in the process. _Probably Liam knocking on the door_. Arthur however was completely wrong as a tall lanky black head manservant of his pocked his head around the door with a sheepish look on his face. The whole room was stunned as the missing manservant shut the door behind him as he made his way towards the table and the knights. Gwaine was the first one to break the silence.

"What I was trying to tell you guys before the Princess here decided to but in every time I tried to tell you, is that Merlin returned this morning." Gwaine said triumphant that no one tried to shut him up.

"Merlin! It's good to see you again." Elyan and all the other knights crowded around the manservant leaving Arthur still sitting down at the table with a stunned look on his face.

"How come you lot are still here? Gwaine killed the dragon." Merlin asked.

"Arthur wanted to make sure that there were no more in the area." Percival explained.

"Not that there were." Gwaine muttered.

"I sure there want but Arthur was just being careful." Merlin agreed.

"What took you so long?" Arthur asked finally over seeing his manservant standing there alive and well.

"The herb is very tricky to find, I would like to see you do better." Merlin retorted.

"I could find it quicker than you; a young child barely able to walk could find it quicker than you." Arthur shot back. The rest of the knights stayed silent as they knew that it was Arthur's way of dealing with things. He had gotten over his worry about never seeing his friend again; so now came the anger.

"You could not. I had to hike up a mountain to get it." Merlin argued.

"You climbing a mountain, ha; how many times did you fall over for no apparent reason?" Arthur smirked.

"Not that many." Merlin muttered turning a bright red from embarrassment.

"Knowing you every tenth step, you would fall over. Are you sure that it was a mountain not a hill?" Arthur asked making all the other knights snigger as they knew how clumsy the manservant could be, especially when they go hunting for dear in the forest. Merlin did seem to fall over everything at his feet. Merlin stayed silent as the knights continued to snigger.

"It was a mountain, one of the ones with snow on top in that direction." Merlin said pointing in the direction that the knights had been searching for the last few days. If they had not returned to Ealdor they would have seen him returning.

"Sure it was. But could you please explain this?" Arthur asked pulling the blooded neckerchief from his pocket and placing it on the table for all to see.

"That's mine!" Merlin gaped.

"Yes it is; I found it in the forest." Arthur said staring at his manservant.

"Merlin, how did you lose it?" Elyan asked when it was obvious that neither Merlin nor Arthur were going to speak. Merlin turned away and muttered something quietly.

"What was that?" Percival asked.

"I trip over a tree root." Merlin muttered again only slightly louder, but it was just enough for the knights to hear him sending them laughing yet again. Merlin's face turned a brighter shade of red which considering that it was still red from earlier was amazing.

"Merlin; the blood?" Arthur asked sternly shutting up the laughing knights. Merlin wouldn't look any of them in the eye; instead he hung his head and stared at the floor, before sighing out loud.

"When I tripped over the tree root I kind of hit my nose causing it to bleed. I used the neckerchief to try and stem the flow; I must have dropped it somewhere." Merlin sighed.

"You never cease to be clumsy, you know that Merlin." Arthur sighed back.

"Princess here has been worried about you since he found that." Gwaine said grinning.

"How many times do you have to call me that? I AM THE KING!" Arthur shouted to the smirking knight.

"The whole village now knows it too." Merlin mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Arthur growled at Merlin. Not getting any answer he continued. "Why did you go off alone anyway you know that there are dangerous people and beast out there!" He shouted.

"I have to get back to check on my mother." Merlin said. And with that his manservant was gone; through the door and away before he had the chance to say anything. Gwaine swore and took of after his friend. Looking at the other knights he saw them shaking their heads at him; he really needed to watch his temper.

An hour later Arthur was ready to face his manservant once more. Considering that he and the other knights were going to leave in another hour he didn't want to leave any bad feelings between the two of them. But first he headed of towards where he thought the head of the village was; at least he could tell them that there were no more dragons to be found. With that done he once again found himself outside Hunith's door. Ready to knock he froze when he heard Gwaine's voice say his name; curious he placed his ear to the door hoping to hear more.

"I can't tell him yet, it's not the right time." Merlin said.

"When will it ever be?" _That sounded like Liam. Come on what can't you tell me Merlin?_

"He'll hate me." _What? I can never hate him!_

"Arthur's been asking a lot of questions about you, your father and your childhood." Liam argued. _Where's he going with this?_

"Let him ask. I'm not ready for him to know yet." Merlin said. Arthur heard someone coming this way; he quickly stepped back and knocked softly on the door. _Oh Merlin what have you gotten yourself into?_

* * *

**_AN: Hello to all you people still reading this fic, I have finnaly had a great night sleep as the generator has finnaly been taken away after 6 BLOODY MONTHS OF NOISE! Now I'm partly sane again, I can write quicker. YAY! Dont forget to review as it makes me very happy. Till next time._**

**_Mushushy._**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 26**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**All the itelics in the chapter are Merlin's thoughts.**

* * *

_Previously._

_He would miss this sight when he finally decided to leave. Merlin knew that his holidays were more than half way done and he still had to get back to Ealdor to ask his mother the questions that had been running around his mind for the last week. Making up his mind he told the dragons that he needed a lift back to Ealdor tomorrow. They were both sad to see he go as they were getting into a routine. _

* * *

Just like the last week Merlin woke up to Aithusa's snout in his face. She let out a cooing noise seeing that his eyes were open and watching her. He was going to miss that, all he had to look forward to was Arthur throwing things at his head. He hoped that Gaius was back by the time that he arrived back in Camelot; his uncle would always make sure that he was awake at the right time with breakfast waiting for him as he rushed out the chambers ready to serve Arthur for another day. At least he still had a week of freedom which he plans to spend with his mother and his best friend.

Sitting up from his bed roll he realized that it was still dark outside as the sun had not risen yet, he frowned for a moment then remembered that if he wanted a ride on the back of Kilgharrah then they had to leave while it was still dark. Just so that no one would see them, they were supposed to be dead after all. It wouldn't be good if they were suddenly seen flying with Merlin on Kilgharrah's back, considering what it took for the villages to believe that Aithusa was 'dead'. Merlin made sure that all his possessions were pack up and ready to go, all he needed to do now was dispose of the leaves and branches that he had been using as a cushion to sleep on.

Having one last look around the dragon's cave he collected his things and hulled himself up on top of a waiting Kilgharrah. With everything secured including Aithusa back in her usual spot, Kilgharrah walked to the edge of the cliff spreading his wings out fully just to stretch out any kinks. One second they're there and then the next they're in a controlled fall. The great dragon's wings catching the air currents taking them high over the mountains in the direction of Ealdor. Letting out a whoop of happiness Merlin spread his arms out just like he did the first ever flight. Closing his eyes he let the cold air flow over him, he was struck by a funny thought. He was imagining Arthur's face if he came in to Ealdor riding on Kilgharrah's back, he was sure that his friend would freak thinking that Merlin had gone mad. Of cause then he would try and kill the dragon's thinking that they had taken Merlin for some reason.

The fight didn't last as long as Merlin would have liked but the sun would be up soon, so as Kilgharrah circled down looking for a large enough clearing so that he could land. Finally spotting the same one that he had landed in the week before, he headed towards it landing perfectly. Merlin slipped off the dragons back with his bag slung across his shoulder. Holding out his hands for the little dragon, Aithusa jumped down letting Merlin catch him. Merlin knew that this was going to be hard saying good bye to her; she felt the same way nuzzling into his neck while she cooed. After a minute or two he pulled her away and set her down in the ground, she immediately spread her wings landing on her spot on Kilgharrah's back.

"Don't worry about her she is sulking because she doesn't want her father to go." Kilgharrah chuckled at the look on Merlin's face.

"I wish that I could have stayed but I only have a limited time off, and there is still so much to do before it ends." Merlin sighed.

"I wish you luck seeking your answers young warlock." Kilgharrah rumbled bowing his head in good bye.

"Thank you Kilgharrah; for everything you have done." Merlin replied and watched as the dragons took off towards their cave. Merlin watched as the dragons grew smaller in the distance till he couldn't see them anymore, so he turned and headed towards his home. As Merlin walked closer to the village he started to worry that Arthur might still be there, he didn't know what he would say to where he has been for the last week. True that they had made a cover story but that was only supposed to last a couple of days not a whole week. He would have to think on the spot if Arthur was at his house when he arrived.

Exiting the forest Merlin looked for any sign of the Camelot knights, not seeing any he headed straight to his mother's house at a brisk run. He had hoped that Gwaine would be up by this time of the morning; then he could explain to him what had happened this past week. Knocking quietly on the door, he stepped back as the door opened quickly almost hitting him in the shoulder. In the doorway stood a grumpy looking Gwaine who looked barely awake, Gwaine's face broke into a giant smile seeing his friend standing there. Gwaine launched forward enveloping Merlin in a bone crushing hug.

"My friend; your back!" Gwaine greeted.

"Yeah sorry for taking so long, Aithusa needed me to stay a bit longer than expected." Merlin replied as Gwaine stepped back into the house with Merlin following.

"You have had Arthur worrying about you for the whole week." Gwaine said.

"He's still here?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, he was convinced that there was a dragon out there. He also found your bloodied neckerchief and started to worry." Gwaine explained.

"Crap I forgot that I drop that. I take he didn't react well?" Merlin sighed.

"Oh you can say that, he has been silent most of the week and he won't stop carrying the bloodied neckerchief around with him. He thinks that we haven't notice when he takes it out and stares at it for a while." Gwaine told him.

"Merlin! Your back!" Hunith let out in a shout of joy heading straight to Merlin and giving him a hug with he returned happily.

"Sorry I took so long, but Aithusa decided to start to talk, so I have had to teach her the very basic stuff. She sends her love to the both of you by the way. And you I have to I have to say, you've gotten Aithusa hooked on apples, she wants more." Merlin grumbled at Gwaine whose smiling increased.

"I'm just happy that your back, you didn't run into any trouble out there did you?" Hunith asked.

"No mother I didn't." Merlin said shaking his head. _Only the bandits that tried to contain me but I'm not going to tell you that."_

"Good, why dint you and Gwaine head over to where Arthur is staying and put him out of his misery, he does love to worry so." Hunith sighed.

"Yeah I'm starting to see that." Merlin agreed.

Gwaine and Merlin exited the house carefully shutting the door behind them, as they started to walk through the village they watched as the first villagers starting up there work for the day. Harvest season was almost upon them, if they wanted to live through the winter season they had to make sure that they had enough food to eat and replant the next growing season. Considering that it was a small village there was less people to help out on the fields so every hour counted. Merlin always felt guilty leaving his mother alone when he went to Camelot all those years ago, gradually he pushed it to the back of his mind but occasionally it popped back making him feel guilty all over again.

The guilty feeling usually didn't last long as Merlin thought about how he had managed to control his magic more, compared to when all he used was his instinctual magic the spells that Gaius had taught him were a lot more powerful. He was thankful towards his uncle, for all his help and the spell book that he gave him. He was also thankful for finding his place in the world, protecting Arthur from all the threats, magic or no magic. Along the way he had made more friends that didn't judge him for being a servant, even though they didn't know about his magic yet, he hoped that one day they would know the truth and not treat him any differently just like Gwaine had. He was happy that the knight still stood by him when he found out as he was one of the friendships that he dearly treasured in his life and he never wanted to lose that.

They arrived at the house that the Camelot knights were staying in, Gwaine being Gwaine wanted to go in first and tell them of Merlin's return while Merlin had to wait outside. Merlin waited for five minutes listening at the door while Gwaine failed to get e word in edge wise as all he could hear was Arthurs muffled voice though the door. Deciding that enough was enough Merlin knocked on the door before he opened it and pocked his head in to the room. The first thing that Merlin noticed was that the knights were seated at the table except for Gwaine, but what really caught his attention was the bloodied neckerchief on the table. _Gwaine was right about Arthur._

"What I was trying to tell you guys before the Princess here decided to but in every time I tried to tell you, is that Merlin returned this morning." Gwaine had said breaking the shock from the knights. The next thing that Merlin knew was that he was caught up in more hugs and shoulder pats from the knights, all except Arthur who just sat there.

"Merlin! It's good to see you again. "Elyan said.

Merlin was too curious as to why they were still there so he asked. "How come you lot are still here? Gwaine killed the dragon."

The knights explained as Arthur stayed silent and sitting there, of cause then Arthur had to ask the one question that he really didn't want to tell them mainly about why he was gone so long. Luckily he had thought about this while he was standing outside, so he replied. "The herb is very tricky to find, I would like to see you do better."_ Still acting the king even here._

This of cause sent the two of them into bickering with the other's sniggering in the background. Merlin turned bright red when they pointed out his clumsiness that he seemed to possess most of the time. Then Arthur had to bring up the bloodied neckerchief, causing all the knight's to go silent waiting for Merlin to explain. "That's mine!" Merlin gaped. _Play the stupid manservant and hopefully I won't have to explain too much._

"Yes it is; I found it in the forest." Arthur said staring at him. _Oh crap, Arthur knows, he knows! Maybe if I just stay silent then they might drop the matter._

"Merlin, how did you lose it?" Elyan asked breaking the silence. _Oh great just another opportunity to laugh at my expense. But it bets telling the full truth._

"I trip over a tree root." He said hoping that he was loud enough so he didn't have to repeat himself.

"What was that?" Percival asked. _Evidently not._

"I trip over a tree root." He muttered slightly louder hoping that they weren't going to make fun of him, his hope shattered as the knights started to laugh even harder than before. Of cause he couldn't help himself as his face decide it wanted to turn the bright red of Camelot.

"Merlin; the blood?" Arthur asked sternly shutting up the laughing knights. Merlin wouldn't look any of them in the eye; instead he hung his head and stared at the floor, before sighing out loud. _I thought that it was kind of obvious to everyone. _

"When I tripped over the tree root I kind of hit my nose causing it to bleed. I used the neckerchief to try and stem the flow; I must have dropped it somewhere." Merlin sighed.

"You never cease to be clumsy, you know that Merlin." Arthur sighed back. _Oh yes that's me clumsy stupid Merlin._

"Princess here has been worried about you since he found that." Gwaine said grinning.

"How many times do you have to call me that? I AM THE KING!" Arthur shouted to the smirking knight. _Good god now I'm deaf._

"The whole village now knows it too." Merlin mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Arthur growled at Merlin. Not getting any answer he continued. "Why did you go off alone anyway you know that there are dangerous people and beast out there!" He shouted deafening Merlin again. _Maybe I should just leave till he calms down contrary to what he thinks I can look after myself._

"I have to get back to check on my mother." Merlin said.

He bolted out the house intent on going back to his mother's house; he could hear Gwaine running after him. He should have known that his friend would come after him so he slowed down and waited till Gwaine was by his side before he continued walking. Gwaine silently walked by his side not saying a thing, Merlin knew that he was letting him have the first word in. he truly was a great friend to Merlin, now that he knew about his gift he still perceived him in the same light as before making Merlin's heart soar with gratitude. Knocking and entering the house Merlin saw that Liam had arrived and was seated at the table while Hunith moved around the room with a broom in her hands.

"Hello again Liam." Merlin greeted.

"It's good to see you again Merlin. How was the trip?" Liam asked.

"Productive." Merlin replied.

"I see that you look well rested."

"Yeah, the dragon's cave was very comfortable and had the most wondrous view." Merlin sighed.

Merlin told them about how he woke up with Aithusa either snuggled into him or staring at him right in front of his face. He explained the way that the sun set was one of the most beautiful sights that he had seen for a while. He described how Aithusa started talking, mostly about apples and how they are the best thing's in the world. They were captivated by the stories about the little white dragon and before they knew it a whole hour had passed with Merlin feeling better with everything. Until Liam brought up Arthur again, and how he had been asking questions about Merlin's childhood. Which let to Liam saying. "Well why you don't tell him the truth?"

"Yeah Arthur wouldn't harm you if that is what you are worried about, he had been fussing about finding you all week." Gwaine nodded agreeing with Liam.

"I can't tell him yet, it's not the right time." Merlin sighed. _They just don't know what it's like to have magic. To think that if people found out then he was as good as dead. I have been hiding all my life how am I supposed to just say it out loud._

"When will it ever be?" Liam shot back.

"He'll hate me." Merlin said softly.

"Arthur's been asking a lot of questions about you, your father and your childhood." Liam argued.

"Let him ask. I'm not ready for him to know yet." Merlin said making up his mind. _He can't know not just yet. It's not time yet. _

He was brought out of his thoughts by a soft knock on the door, considering that he was the closest to the door Merlin when to open it and found himself face to face with a determined looking Arthur.

* * *

**AN: Hello to all you reader's out there! Only 3 more months till I go on my trip to Rome! Completely looking forward to traveling on a ship again but by then this fic should be finished and posted by then, I hope. Please review and I shall see you next time.**

**Mushushy.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 27**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously_

_"He's the temporary manservant while Merlin is on holidays. The assassin had attacked George right before Arthur left the castle, Arthur was able to fend the assassin off and when Arthur asked George what that was all about the boy said that he was attacked because the assassin confused him with another person called emery's." he answered._

_"So is it Merlin or this George that is Emery's?" Morgana asked._

_"I'm not too sure my lady." Agravaine admitted._

_"Right then we need a plan." Morgana told him and for the next couple of hours they came up with a plan to find out who the real Emery's is._

* * *

Gaius was having one of the busiest months of the year. It seems that this was the month of the year to get sick, he was lucky that he had Merlin to help him when he was in Camelot, unfortunately he wasn't in Camelot, but he was on his way back. He expected Merlin would be happy for him to come back, he was learning quiet quickly by he was still young and with the fact that he was also the manservant to the king he was sure that the boy was going to be tired of running back and forth between the two jobs. He probably wasn't taking care of himself without Gaius to shove some food in his hands as the young warlock ran out the door in the morning.

Sighing he packed up his medicine bag, he was ready to head back home to Camelot. The sweating fever was finally run its cause in the village of Kanao. Hopefully by the time that Gaius came back the Sweating sickness in Camelot was well taken care of. The only worry for Gaius now was that Merlin had gone and done something silly and hurt himself in the process, probably trying to protect Arthur and the knights. Picking up the rest of his bags Gaius carried them out to his horse and tied them on, making sure that the Glass vials were protected from the bumpiness of the ride. With his things stored on his horse he went to find the leaders of the village and bid them goodbye. He also said that if they needed his help again; then all they had to do was come to Camelot and ask. Gaius mounted up and began the day journey back to Camelot and his home.

* * *

Gaius had made good time arriving in Camelot in the mid-afternoon, as he entered the front gates to the citadel he looked around in the hope to see either Merlin or Arthur running around yelling at each other. Gaius chuckled to himself at the thought of that, arriving at the doors he dismounted his horse and lifted his bags of the horse before one of the stable boys came to take care of the horse. There was still no sign of Merlin to be seen, which kind of worried him a bit, surely by now the guards had announced that he had arrived back in Camelot. Walking up the front steps he came face to face with Gwen and Sir Leon who looked very happy to see him, still no Merlin or Arthur, maybe they went on a hunt or something and are no longer in Camelot.

Smiling Gaius greeted them while Leon helped him carry his bags up to his chambers. Along the way Gaius told them about the sickness and how that there was no threat left to the people of Kanao, from disease that is. Gwen thanked him for helping the village, and conformed that the sickness had indeed run its cause here in Camelot as well. After they dumped the bags down in his chambers he turned back to Leon and thanked him for carrying them back for him. He noticed the lack of Merlin in his chambers, in fact it looked like that there had been no one living there, and there was a lack of dirty dishes and what not around the chamber like normal. Gaius couldn't stand not knowing if his nephew was in danger, he said this much to the other two.

"I'm sure that Merlin is fine Gaius, he and Gwaine went to Ealdor to see his mother." Gwen said softly.

"Why?" Gaius asked them.

"That is a long story." Gwen sighed.

"He didn't do anything foolish did he?" Gaius asked looking between the two in the hopes to gage the truth from them. From what he could see, the two of them look tired and worn out.

"No, he didn't, how about we go and have some lunch and talk about the weeks that you have been away?" Gwen invited. He nodded, taking her hand and escorted her to her chambers.

"So where is Arthur?" Gaius inquired as they walked.

"He's also in Ealdor at the moment." Leon sighed.

Before he could ask why Lord Agravaine appeared out of the shadows halting his tongue before he said something that the Lord could use against him or Merlin. It was bad enough that the Lord knew almost everything that happened concerning Camelot's security and goings on in the citadel. Gaius really hoped that one day soon Agravaine would be outed as an enemy of Camelot, the more that Arthur's uncle deceived his nephew the more that Arthur would be crushed when he found out. It was kind of obvious to Gaius that Agravaine was siding with Morgana; the man just dressed the part. _I mean who wears black all the time, it's just a big sign saying that I am evil and I will betray you in the end._

"Gaius I see that you came back. I trust that the journey wasn't too taxing." Agravaine said in his oily tone that seemed to send a shiver down his spine.

"It was well enough my Lord." He replied in a clipped tone.

"Good, I trust that the trip went well?"

"As well as could be expected." He nodded back to Agravaine who turned to Gwen.

"My Queen, I was wondering where that yearly report was, the one concerning the grain storage." Agravaine asked bowing to her.

"My Lord, I have already placed it on your desk, if you have any questions then you could ask them at the meeting later today. Now if you will excuse me the three of us plan to have some lunch." She said dismissing him. The Lord getting the message bowed once more leaving the three of them continuing their journey to Gwen's chamber. Gaius was more than ready to know what the hell happened while he was away.

* * *

Agravaine was having one hell of a week; with Arthur gone on that dragon hunt in Ealdor he was able to set Morgana's plan in motion. As soon as that manservant returned from his trip he was to set the trap. The other part plan was set; the part that he had to play would put him far from suspicion that he was sure that the physician suspected was his fault. Not that the physician was here at the moment, when he did return Gaius was sure to keep a close eye on him like normal. But he would do anything to make sure the rightful Queen sat on the throne of Camelot; not his stupid nephew. Arthur was just like his father and didn't deserve what he had.

As long as he lived Agravaine was going to make sure that Morgana's will is for filled, where it needed his help. Agravaine didn't know what was going to happen when she finally did succeed, would she reward him or was she just kill him like he ment nothing to her. It was one of the questions that plagued him at night when he tried to sleep, all he could hope for was to live after everything is done and dusted. She was so angry that he hadn't informed her about the identity of Emrys, not that he truly knew, he only suspected. Now he had to go along with this plan and hope that he didn't get too injuring in the planed attack.

It was his job to make sure that the servant that was assigned to him at this time, the one named George was in a certain place at the right time. Luckily the servant wasn't one to question orders and would do exactly what he was told to. That part of the plan should be a cinch in comparison to the second part. Sighing Lord Agravaine continued along the corridor in search for the servant girl playing the queen; Morgana's old servant at that. It didn't take long for Agravaine to track her down; unfortunately he saw that Gaius had returned from the sweating sickness village. _It just means that I have to be extra careful when I'm around that old man. As long as I am able to for fill the plan then it won't matter, as soon as Morgana figures out which one is the real Emery's then there would be no one to stand in the way of her sorcerer army. The throne of Camelot will be hers._

Walking up to them he said. "Gaius I see that you came back. I trust that the journey wasn't too taxing."

"It was well enough my Lord." Gaius replied in a clipped tone. _Oh look he's already suspicious of me._

"Good, I trust that the trip went well?" He asked.

"As well as could be expected." Gaius answered shortly. _He's really trying not to give anything away._

"My Queen." _For now._ "I was wondering where that yearly report was, the one concerning the grain storage." Agravaine asked bowing to her.

"My Lord, I have already placed it on your desk, if you have any questions then you could ask them at the meeting later today. Now if you will excuse me the three of us plan to have some lunch." She said dismissing him.

Taking the hint Agravaine bowed once more and left for his chambers disappointed that he didn't manage to ask any more questions to the physician. Upon entering his chambers, he turned and locked the door so that he wouldn't be disturbed; walking over to his desk he glanced down and saw the grain storage report on his desk just like the queen said. Picking it up to take a closer look he jumped when there was a quiet cough from one of the room's corners, whirling around he was shocked to see George the manservant standing there with a water goblet in his hands. Behind him Agravaine could see that the table was loaded with food. He couldn't help the fact that one of his eyes twitched uncontrollably. There was just something about George that made him uneasy.

"My Lord, I have made you a small afternoon tea as I know that you didn't eat anything for lunch." George said bowing.

"Eerrrrrr (eye twitch) I'm not hungry." Agravaine said trying to think of a plan to escape.

"As you wish, was there something else that I can do for you my Lord?" George asked.

"Clean that food up and then you're dismissed for the day but be here early in the morning, there is a meeting that I need to go to." He ordered.

"Yes my Lord." George bowed before he set about clean the food of the table.

As George was cleaning Agravaine was sneaking peaks at the servant trying to discern whether or not the boy really was the prophesised Emrys. There was something to be said about the cleaning ability of the boy, looking around the room it had never looked cleaner than it had right after George was assigned to him. Agravaine had also never met anybody that was able to clean brass like George. Maybe the boy really was magical.

* * *

**AN: H****ello everyone. I wanted to dedicate this chapter to my friend Meiwaty who passed away this week from cancer. She was the sweetest soul that I had ever met and I will miss her dearly. Mei you will forever be in our hearts and minds, may you rest in peace. Readers, I might not update next week, so I shall see you when I see you.**

**Mushushy.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 28**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously._

_"I can't tell him yet, it's not the right time." Merlin said._

_"When will it ever be?" That sounded like Liam. Come on what can't you tell me Merlin?_

_"He'll hate me." What? I can never hate him!_

_"Arthur's been asking a lot of questions about you, your father and your childhood." Liam argued. Where's he going with this?_

_"Let him ask. I'm not ready for him to know yet." Merlin said. Arthur heard someone coming this way; he quickly stepped back and knocked softly on the door. Oh Merlin what have you gotten yourself into?_

* * *

Aithusa didn't have to wait long for Kilgharrah to turn his back on her as he went off to get lunch for them. For him he thought that she was just sulking in the corner about the fact that Merlin had to go back to his village meaning that he wouldn't be living in the cave with the dragons anymore. True she had originally started to sulk but on the flight back to the cave she came up with a new plan. One involving staying with her human father for a while, hopefully it would work out baring any interference from the older dragon.

As Kilgharrah went off to hunt Aithusa made her move, uncurling from the corner where she was she headed to the back of the cave searching for the one entrance that she knew headed through to the other side of the mountain when Merlin's village was located. The one good thing about the tunnel was that with Kilgharrah being the size that he was he couldn't fit in to chase after her. The two bad things were that was that the tunnel was dark and cold. Aithusa had to make sure that Kilgharrah didn't just fly over the mountain and stop her before she makes it to the village. If she timed it right she would be able to wait in the trees till it became dark enough for her to sneak back to Merlin's house.

As she hurried through the cold and dark tunnels she began to think that she might actually have a chance to pull this off without Kilgharrah stoping her. So far his voice hadn't sounded in her mind so he still must be out hunting which was a good thing as she knew he would stop her. She was lucky that she had explored this tunnel when she was smaller as she came to a fork she knew that she had to turn right as it lead downwards. The left tunnel head back around to the cave zigzagging in multiple directions before arriving close to the beginning, the reason that she never took it was that it took a longer time to travel up it.

As she reached the end of the cave it was a short glide down to the forest floor, she had to admit that her wing strength had improved over the last few weeks. She could now fly slightly higher than the tree tops but that wouldn't be an option as Kilgharrah would likely see her and pluck her straight out of the air. No it would be smarter to stick closer to the ground to avoid that, the only problem was that she had to avoid the humans that were all over the place. In the end Aithusa manage to sneak around the groups of men that smelled like death, from what her fathers had told her they were bad men and she needed to avoid them at all cost.

She was still a little ways out of the village just so that she wouldn't be seen by the people there, as she knew that her human father trusted people not all people could be trusted and would more than likely harm her. Hence the STAY AWAY FROM HUMAN FULLSTOP lecture that she had received by both Merlin and Kilgharrah. Now that she was here al she had to do was find a place to wait for the rest of the day away from any humans. Finding the perfect branch Aithusa settled down, it wasn't long however that she sensed Merlin coming closer.

Happy that she didn't have to wait till sun down she decided to surprise him right away so she jumped down form the tree and headed straight towards him. Bounding though the undergrowth she knew that she was making a fair amount of noise but it didn't matter as she was so close to her goal. Slowing down she entered the bushes in front of her so she could spy on him before she made her move. After watching her father and another man that smelt like him she jumped out the bush heading straight to Merlin's chest.

* * *

With Merlin just standing there waiting for Arthur to say something all Arthur mind unfortunately had gone blank. After a few second he sighed and opened his mouth to say he was sorry nut he was beaten to the punch by Merlin. Shaking his head he said.

"No Merlin it is I that should say that I'm sorry, I snapped at you earlier because I was relieved. I spent the last week thinking that I was going to find you dead somewhere. That bloody neckerchief that we found didn't help the matter at all. If fact it made it worse." Arthur sighed pulling the bloodied neckerchief from his pocket and handed it back to a stunned looking Merlin.

"Arthur… I don't know what to say." Merlin stammered.

"I do let's go and find a pub." Gwaine butted in from behind the door.

"Shut up Gwaine." The voice of Liam could be heard from the inner house.

"Awwwww but it would make everything all better." Gwaine wined.

Merlin walked out the house shutting the door behind him leaving him and Arthur alone to talk. After Arthur's display of emotion it was clear to Arthur that he had managed to make Merlin speechless. Looking around him he saw that there were quite a few people around the town, wanting a bit more privacy Arthur motioned for Merlin to follow him in to the forest. The journey was once again done in silence with them both deep in thought, one about how the other might react if he ever found out about his magic and the other about what could his best friend be keeping from him that was so bad that he couldn't tell him. They walked deep enough into the forest so that they wouldn't be overheard by the villagers. Turning to Merlin he opened his mouth and said.

"Before you say anything I wanted to say that I had overheard part of your conversation before I knocked on the door." Arthur said watching Merlin's reaction. What he wasn't ready for was the way that Merlin turned a very pale white and looked like he might topple over.

"Arthur… I…" Merlin stammered looking panicked about something and before he could continue Arthur put up a hand to silence him.

"You know that you can tell me anything right. Whatever it is I won't think any different about you, you're still my friend." Arthur continued hoping that Merlin would tell him what he was so afraid to before.  
"What exactly did you hear?" Merlin asked.

"That you didn't want me to know something and that for some reason that I would hate you for it." Arthur replied.

"You did hear anything else?" Merlin asked in a small voice making Arthur frown.

"No Merlin whatever it was that you're hiding from me it is still a secret until you decide for me to know." Arthur sighed. _Why can't he just tell me what his secret is? Doesn't he know that I think of him as my friend and brother and that there is nothing that he could say that would make me hate him?_

Arthur didn't receive an answer from Merlin as both their attentions were drawn to the rustling bushes on their right. Arthur immediately drew his sword pointing it at the bushes while simultaneously shoving Merlin behind him with his other hand. Arthur ignored the indignant noise that Merlin made preferring to be safer than sorry when it came to his friend. Hearing the rustling sound again Arthur tightened his grip on his sword prepared for anything that may come from the bush.

What he wasn't expecting was a white blur fly past him then slam straight into Merlin's chest at high speed. This all happened before Arthur could blink, let alone do anything to stop whatever it was from attacking his friend. Before he could do anything else Merlin started laughing from where he was situated on his back on the ground. Arthur finally got a good look at what had bawled over his manservant, it was small about the size of a large cat, with white scales and a snout. _Good god it's a baby dragon!_ With that thought he raised the sword up ready for it to attack him, he tried to warn Merlin, but all he got was the sound of Merlin laughing.

Apparently the dragon was nuzzling it's snout into Merlin midriff which was tickling Merlin causing him to laugh out. _Why hasn't it attacked, it seems very friendly. _One voice in his head said while the other said. _I have to kill it now before it starts to bite him. _Unsure what to do he decided to take Merlin out of danger first but as always his friend didn't want to listen to him.

"Merlin move before that thing bites you!" Arthur hissed.

"She's not going to bite me, see she's friendly." Merlin said beaming down at the dragon who was now sitting in Merlin's lap gazing up at him.

"Merlin it's a dragon." Arthur ground out hoping that his friend got the message.

"So, just because you're a human I don't hate you," A little voice piped up causing Arthur to look around to locate it. Eventually he realized that the dragon could talk.

"You can talk?" He asked stunned lowering his sword.

"Of cause my fathers have been helping me." it said proudly.

"There are more of you? How many dragons are out there?" Arthur demanded raising his sword to point it at it again.

"Arthur leave her alone she's just a child." Merlin protested. _Maybe it placed a spell on him; dragons were creatures of magic after all._

"There is only one other dragon alive." The dragon sad sadly._ Wait a minute it said fathers. Crap it may be lying and there are more then one._

"But you said fathers, as in more than one." Arthur pointed out. _Yes I've got you now!_

"Well there's my dragon father and then my human father, but he is kin." It said.

Shocked Arthur stumbled back. _So there was another dragon lord out there that has been hatching dragons. That's just what we need; maybe I can get the name of the human father from it before I kill it. But first I need to know if it has Merlin under some kind of a spell, the idiot looks to protective of it for me to be able to kill it, although he looks like that when we go out hunting._ Snorting at the thought Arthur stepped forward again.

"What's your name then dragon?" Arthur asked.

"Aithusa." Aithusa replied.

"That's a funny name." Arthur said ignoring the glare that Merlin threw his way.

"My human father gave it to me when he hatched me." Aithusa said outraged.

"So this human father, what's his name?" Arthur asked trying not to anger the dragon again. _Come just say the name already._

"Merlin." She chirped happily. _What the hell?_

* * *

**AN: Hello to all you readers out there. Can I just say that I loved writing this chapter soooo much, Aithusa is one of my favourites to write. ****The last couple of weeks have been difficult, first there was Mei's funeral which was done very nicely and now she is at peace. But last Monday it was one of those days. So my father, brother and I went up into the hills to collect some fire wood. That was where we came across The Cursed Tree of DOOM! The first two hours were spent trying to get the chainsaw working even though it was working perfectly at home. Truth is we should have just left then and there. But no we were determined to cut down the tree. When we finally managed to get the chainsaw working again my dad set about cutting the tree down while my brother and I stood at a safe distance. The Tree managed to start to fall the right way but it tangled itself in with a few surrounding trees so my day lobed a huge chunk of it off and again it started to fall. But again no luck as it tangled even more. So again my father lobed another huge piece of but instead of falling the correct way it turned and started to fall towards my dad who was trying to run for it. Fortunately the tree got stuck on more trees just in the other direction. Unfortunately being a dried out dead tree it decided to drop some of its branches, right on my father's head. The thing about earmuffs is that they don't just protect your ears from noise they apparently protect them from being ripped off by rouge branches. So my father got away lightly with a large bump on his head and a scrap on his shoulder but he was determined to get that tree which was now leaning the wrong way. Getting a thick strong rope he tied it to the back of the Ute and the other end to the tree and pulled it with the car. Once it was down fully we thought that it was going to be easy sailing from then on. It was in till we left the gravel and returned to the asphalt road. Then the Nissan Nevara had a nervous breakdown. It didn't want to return to 2 wheel drive and was stuck on the 4 wheel low. After countless times of turning the car back and forth between the two it finally managed to land on the correct one and my brother drove us home. The trip from hell was over. Sorry for the really long AN but I needed to vent. So until next Wednesday goodbye for now.**

** Mushushy.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 29**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**All the Italic's in this chapter are Merlin's thoughts. 'Single quotation marks are the mind speak going on between Merlin and Kilgharrah.'**

* * *

_Previously._

_"He'll hate me." Merlin said softly._

_"Arthur's been asking a lot of questions about you, your father and your childhood." Liam argued._

_"Let him ask. I'm not ready for him to know yet." Merlin said making up his mind. He can't know not just yet. It's not time yet. _

_He was brought out of his thoughts by a soft knock on the door, considering that he was the closest to the door Merlin when to open it and found himself face to face with a determined looking Arthur. _

* * *

Merlin didn't know what to say, he wasn't sure whether or not Arthur had heard anything, if he had wouldn't Merlin be dead already? Merlin didn't know whether to stay or run but judging by the way that Arthur didn't have a stunned or deadly look on his face he could assume that Arthur didn't hear the rest of the conversation. Merlin remembered the way that Merlin had left in anger and he knew that he needed to apologize to his friend.

"I'm sorry for the way that I behaved earlier." He blurted out but Arthur was having none of it.

"No Merlin it is I that should say that I'm sorry, I snapped at you earlier because I was relieved. I spent the last week thinking that I was going to find you dead somewhere. That bloody neckerchief that we found didn't help the matter at all. If fact it made it worse." Arthur said and then proceeded to pull out the blooded piece of cloth and handed it back to him. Stunned Merlin didn't know what to do hell he didn't know what to say.

"Arthur… I don't know what to say." Merlin stammered.

"I do let's go and find a pub." Gwaine butted in from behind him. _Thank you Liam._

"Awwwww but it would make everything all better." Gwaine wined._ No that would make everything worse, especially if I got drunk and lost control of my magic, not that I would ever tell Gwaine that. He would defiantly try to trick me into drinking just to see me like that._

Knowing that they needed some privacy Merlin turned and closed the door behind him leaving Merlin and Arthur alone. Apparently this still wasn't alone enough for Arthur who motioned for Merlin to follow him to the forest. Merlin had begun to wonder if Arthur did hear the whole conversation and was leading him in to the woods to kill him away from everyone else. Merlin started to get nervous as they went further and further, part of his brain told him to wait and see if Arthur had discovered to truth and the other part told him to run right now. It seemed that Arthur considered that it was far enough away from the village because he stopped and faced him.

"Before you say anything I wanted to say that I had overheard part of your conversation before I knocked on the door." Arthur said. _Oh crap he knows the truth; I'm so going to die. I need to run but the world seems to be tilting at an odd angle. Maybe I can just explain it to him, he might not kill me._

"Arthur… I…" Merlin stammered trying to explain about his magic but Arthur threw up his hand silencing Merlin in his tracts.

"You know that you can tell me anything right. Whatever it is I won't think any different about you, you're still my friend." Arthur told him. _Wait what? I really need to find out what he knows._

"What exactly did you hear?" Merlin asked.

"That you didn't want me to know something and that for some reason that I would hate you for it." Arthur replied. _Oh he doesn't know? Is this a trick?_

"You did hear anything else?" Merlin asked secretly hoping that Arthur is going to say no, judging by the frown on Arthur's face his friend is going to say no.

"No Merlin whatever it was that you're hiding from me it is still a secret until you decide for me to know." Arthur sighed. _He doesn't know! This is the best news that I have heard all day. Wait a minute what is that? _

Merlin knew that Arthur had heard the noise as he turned towards it with his sword in his hand at the ready. _When did that get there?_ Merlin didn't have much of a chance to think anything else as Arthur being Arthur shoved him behind himself in the effort to protect his friend. Merlin made a noise of annoyances thinking that he could protect himself better than his friend could ever hope to. Not that he would tell Arthur about his magic yet, the king still had a deep hatred of it which would mean more than like that he would try to kill him. Focussing back to the problem at hand Merlin didn't expect for Kilgharrah's booming voice to sound in his head. 'MERLIN! ATHUSIA"S GONE AGAIN.'

'What do you mean that she's GONE?' Merlin asked back in his head.

Whatever the great dragon's answer was Merlin didn't hear as the rustling in the bush increased as whatever it was decided to come barrelling out straight towards him. At first he thought that it was a small cat but then cats don't have wings and they defiantly don't fly. Internally he swore as he hadn't wanted Arthur to meet the dragon any time soon, the king wasn't ready. But on the other hand maybe if he saw that the little dragon was harmless and wouldn't ever hurt anyone then he might change his attitude towards magic one day. The other thing that worried him was Arthur finding out that he was the last dragon lord.

As Aithusa slammed into his chest Merlin fell backwards as the dragon then proceeded to nuzzle his stomach in the attempt to replicate his Raspberries that he bestowed upon her earlier in the week. It was all too much for Merlin, he couldn't stop laughing as the dragon continued to nuzzle deeper and deeper, he should have told Arthur that it was all right and she wasn't hurting him but all that came out was laughter. Of cause it completely stopped when Arthur decided to speak up.

"Merlin move before that thing bites you!" Arthur hissed. _Yeah like that was going to happen._

"She's not going to bite me, see she's friendly." Merlin said beaming down at the dragon who was now sitting in Merlin's lap gazing up at him. She really had grown up the last couple of weeks, he was so proud of her, his bubble was popped as Arthur went to go and screw everything up with 4 little words.

"Merlin it's a dragon." _A harmless baby dragon that wouldn't harm anyone, He's never going to except magic and me. _Merlin was going to reply but Aithusa beat him to it.

"So, just because you're a human I don't hate you," The little dragon said causing Arthur to look around him trying to find the speaker. Merlin had to stifle his laughter at the look on his friends face; he had to admit he had done exactly the same thing when Aithusa had first spoken, but to see Arthur's clueless face was hilarious. It was about a minute till Arthur had finally realized that a dragon could speak.

"You can talk?" Arthur asked stunned lowering his sword.

"Of cause my fathers have been helping me." Aithusa said proudly. _Oh no she's going to tell him. _'Kilgharrah!'

'What is it young warlock, you have been ignoring me for the last 5 minutes, why are you shouting now?' The great dragon asked.

'You know very well that Aithusa is out and about, she came and found me.' Merlin sighed.

'So what's the problem? Keep her out of the village and I shall come and pick her up later when it's dark, where is she now?' Kilgharrah asked.

'Well that's the problem she's talking to Arthur. What should I do?' Merlin said panicking.

'You have yourself in quite a bit of trouble. Maybe it's a good thing.' Kilgharrah replied.

'I can hear your laughter, you old lizard.' Merlin replied and broke the connection listening to Kilgharrah's laughter.

"There are more of you? How many dragons are out there?" Arthur had asked. _Please just say none, come on Aithusa, say none._ Merlin tried to get the first word in.

"Arthur leave her alone she's just a child." Merlin protested in the hopes that it would work.

"There is only one other dragon alive." Aithusa said sadly. _Damn now Arthur knows that there might be more of them out there. _He was proven right a second later.

"But you said fathers, as in more than one." Arthur pointed out. _Damn that Prat he finally decided to wake up and stop being a blind idiot that always misses the obvious that right in his face. Why couldn't he keep doing that right now?_

"Well there's my dragon father and then my human father, but he is kin." Aithusa replied. _Noooooo now he ask her and she'll tell him that it me and then he's going to murder me. _Merlin thought in a panic. At least Arthur had lowered his sword as he stumbled backwards in shock, which however didn't last long as Arthur stepped forward again.

"What's your name then dragon?" Arthur asked.

"Aithusa." Aithusa replied.

"That's a funny name." Arthur said. Merlin Looked at Arthur sending him a glare. _I had chosen that name, it suites her very well, how dare he say that it was a funny name. I would love to see what he could come up with. _

"My human father gave it to me when he hatched me." Aithusa said outraged. _Yeah you tell him Aithusa._

"So this human father, what's his name?" Arthur asked. _Don't tell him, don't tell him, don't tell him. _Merlin silently begged the small dragon. His hopes were dashed as Aithusa said one word.

"Merlin." She chirped happily. _Ohhhh crap! How am I supposed to get out of this one?_

"Yes that's this idiot's name." Arthur said pointing at Merlin who was looking shocked at how thick Arthur could be. _YES the oblivious Arthur is back!_

"I wanted to know the name of your dragon kin?" Arthur asked again earning a confused look form Aithusa who turned to look at Merlin.

"Merlin." She chirped once more.

Merlin's heart was hammering in his chest as Arthur kept looking between the dragon and Merlin, a look of confusion filtering across his face. Merlin was on the verge of panic, knowing that his friend was going to figure it out soon, but what was the outcome that his friend would choose for him. Banishment, execution were the worst case scenario, the best case would be that his friend accepted him for who he was, so that is what he hope for. All he had to do now was wait for his friend to come to a decision.

"Merlin what's she talking about?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Arthur, I… um I …"Merlin stuttered before Arthur butted in.

"See earlier Merlin I was thinking that the dragon had picked up your name when I had said it before and was just saying it for the hell of it because she didn't know the name. But now I'm thinking that there is something that you're not telling me, what is it?" Arthur asked calmly._ Should I tell him?_

Making up his mind Merlin gathered up his courage and opened his mouth. "Arthur, Aithusa is telling the truth. I'm the last Dragon Lord."

* * *

**AN: ****Hello everyone. Sorry for not updating last week but my computer crashed, leaving me without a computer to post with. But hey it was only one week; happily I will say that due to missing out last week, this week I shall post two chapters up one today and one tomorrow. So till then enjoy and don't forget to review, it really does make my day better!**

**Mushushy.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 30**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

**All the Italic's in this chapter are Arthur's thoughts.**

* * *

_Previously._

_"Aithusa." Aithusa replied. _

_"That's a funny name." Arthur said ignoring the glare that Merlin threw his way._

_"My human father gave it to me when he hatched me." Aithusa said outraged._

_"So this human father, what's his name?" Arthur asked trying not to anger the dragon again. Come just say the name already._

_"Merlin." She chirped happily. What the hell?_

* * *

"Yes that's this idiot's name." Arthur said pointing at Merlin who had a strange look on his face. Completely ignoring his friend he looked back at the dragon and asked again.

"I wanted to know the name of your dragon kin?"

The dragon seemed to be confused as it looked at him and then looked at Merlin, as if it was unsure of something. Arthur wanted to ignore it but something in his gut told him to pay attention between the two. So when the dragon spoke one word it felt like his whole world was going to shatter around him.

"Merlin." The dragon chirped once more.

Arthur's heart skipped a beat as the dragon just looked at him. Maybe this was all a big mistake and the dragon had heard Merlin's name from when he himself had told his friend to get away from it so it said Merlin's name instead of its kin; that must it. Because Merlin couldn't possibly be a dragon lord, he's too much of a clumsy fool for that. The look on his friends face however was telling him a different story, was it possible that the dragon was telling the truth and Merlin was in fact the dragon's kin. If it was true then what would mean that his best friend had lied to him for years, maybe everything was an act to get close to him for some reason. He could stop looking between the dragon and Merlin as if it could allow him to be able to know the truth. Mentally preparing himself for the likely hood that Merlin was the dragon's kin he decided to ask Merlin straight out, give him a chance to tell him.

"Merlin what's she talking about?" Arthur asked quietly. _Please just say that you don't know, I don't want it to be true._

"Arthur, I… um I …"Merlin stuttered. It was all that Arthur could bear knowing that he had got his answer.

"See earlier Merlin I was thinking that the dragon had picked up your name when I had said it before and was just saying it for the hell of it because she didn't know the name. But now I'm thinking that there is something that you're not telling me, what is it?" Arthur asked calmly. _Come on just tell me already I can handle it._ He couldn't however stop himself from dropping his sword when Merlin replied a few seconds later.

"Arthur, Aithusa is telling the truth. I'm the last Dragon Lord." Merlin said straight faced.

After everything that they had been through to find out that your best friend was lying to your face the whole time, it hurt deeply. It also brought up the question of whether or not the whole friendship was real or not. One thing that he had wished for was that his friends never ended up like Morgana, but here was his best friend becoming exactly like her, he probably had magic as well, he would hate to know whether or not Merlin had started learning it after he arrived in Camelot or had he been taught it from the start. Did any of the knights know and kept it a secret from him after swearing an oath to him and Camelot. If they did then that was treasonous behaviour which could end in banishment or worse death.

Could he banish Merlin? Could he kill him? He was evil right?_ And evil needed to be destroyed just like my father taught me._ One thing that was niggling at him was if Merlin was kin to the dragon that made him a Dragon Lord, the last Dragon Lord. But Balinor was the last and he's dead so what exactly was Merlin? A sudden thought struck him; if Balinor was the last dragon lord does that mean the Merlin was Balinor son? And if Merlin was Balinor's son does that make him a prince? Did Merlin know that? This was all too much for Arthur to take in, first the dragon then Merlin being a dragon lord and possibly a prince. He really needed to talk to Liam as he was sure that the older man knew all of this. Looking over at Merlin sitting there with the dragon in his lap he didn't look like he was going to harm anyone at all. Minutes ticked by before Arthur had the courage to speak again.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"How could I! I have magic! I have a baby dragon sitting on my lap and the first thing that you ask me is that?" Merlin shouted.

"I don't care about that! You're supposed to be my friend, but you've lied to me the whole entire time. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" Arthur shouted back.

"Maybe because the first thing that I saw when arriving in Camelot all those years ago; was a man being executed because he had magic! Time and time again you have expressed your dislike for magic, so tell me Arthur when could I have told you?" Merlin said shaking his head.

"Well when you put it like that, I don't know." Arthur replied staring at his sword lying on the ground at his feet. The sword that Merlin had showed him, the sword in the stone, was the sword made from magic? It would be the reason that it never seemed to need to be cleaned. Bending down Arthur picked up his sword trying to ignore Merlin who flinched at the sudden move. _Merlin really didn't think that I would harm him right?_

"Merlin…" Arthur started his voice not giving away his intent.

"Arthur I'm so sorry! You have to believe me! I have only ever helped you." Merlin interrupted panic written all over his face.

"Merlin…" Arthur tried again but Merlin continued to babble about how he wasn't evil, Arthur had had enough and snapped.

"MERLIN! I'm trying to say that I'm going back to Camelot. You're staying here!" Arthur shouted.

"You're not going to kill me?" Merlin hiccupped.

"Kill you? No." Arthur said shaking his head.

"But you picked up your sword?" Merlin said softly.

"Yes because I'm heading back to Camelot and I don't intend to leave this sword lying on the wet ground to get all rusty." Arthur answered.

"Camelot." Aithusa piped up drawing the other two's attention to her.

"Yes little one, the great white castle that I live in." Merlin told her.

"One that I have to get back to, Merlin you're staying here, just keep her out of sight." Arthur sighed turning to walk away.

"Arthur wait! Does that mean that you're banishing me?" Merlin asked panicking.

"No, you still have a few days left before your holiday's finished. I think that I need time to come to terms with all of this." Arthur said waving his hand toward Aithusa. "I will keep you secret for now, I really think that you should tell the rest of the knight's before they find out themselves."

With that Arthur turned leaving Merlin sitting there with Aithusa on his lap. To be honest Arthur had no idea of what to think about this whole situation with Merlin and his baby dragon. One part of him wanted to reject his friend completely as he had magic and magic was evil. It was the part that was always being hammered into him by his father. The other part was arguing that Merlin was his friend who had been through so much, and had helped him when he really needed it. The Merlin had had so many opportunities to turn on him that he should have been dead ages ago if Merlin so desired. The Merlin that had magic just like Morgana but decided to help him rather than his crazed half-sister. It just didn't make any sense, why didn't Merlin side with Morgana since they both had magic, under Morgana's rule magic would have been legal in Camelot. Merlin would have been free if he had sided with Morgana instead of him.

_How do I know that Merlin wasn't planning something the whole entire time and this was just a part of the plan that he and Morgana had plotted_. Arthur really couldn't help but think that, it was the little part of Uther that popped up now again. shaking his head Arthur continued his trek back to the village, trying to get over his shock and trying to decide what to tell the others when he returns without Merlin by his side. Come to think about it Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that Gwaine probably knew, not that Arthur was going to ask him, just in case Gwaine didn't know anything at all. Maybe Arthur could hint at it to see exactly what the knight knows. But knowing the drunken rouge if he had to choose between Arthur and Merlin, Gwaine would choose Merlin any day.

One other thing that was bothering him was the map that he had found in the book; the other reason to get back to Camelot where hopefully Gaius had returned, he really needed to ask the old physician about a few things that needed answering. Exiting the forest line he spotted Gwaine milling around Hunith's hut, trying to catch a glimpse of any sign of the two. Arthur hadn't realized he still had his sword in his hands until Gwaine gave him a look of horror after seeing the unsheathed sword. _Ah so he does know something._ As Arthur walked closer he put his sword back into its covering and was about to explain to Gwaine when the knight's fist slammed into his nose.

Stumbling back clutching his now bleeding but not broken nose Arthur was about to yell at the knight but stopped when he realized that Gwaine was sprinting of into the forest, Arthur assumed to look for Merlin. _How much did Gwaine know? Did he really think that I would hurt Merlin?_ Arthur started off after him but thought better of it. Let the knight know that he hadn't harmed Merlin any, hopefully Arthur would have a conversation with the rouge knight before he returned to Camelot, mainly consisting of 'make sure he doesn't get into trouble on the road and watch him like a hawk'. Taking his hand away from his nose to check to see if the bleeding had stopped, which it had, Arthur sighed and headed off to where all the knights were waiting back at the house, he really needed to find an excuse for the bloody nose_. As long as it wasn't 'I walked into a tree'._

* * *

**AN: Hello all you readers out there, here's the second chapter as promised. Not completely happy with it, some of it I wrote again and again. I would love to know your thoughts so drop me a review. Till next time.**

**Mushushy.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 31**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously._

_With that Arthur turned leaving Merlin sitting there with Aithusa on his lap. To be honest Arthur had no idea of what to think about this whole situation with Merlin and his baby dragon. Stumbling back clutching his now bleeding but not broken nose Arthur was about to yell at the knight but stopped when he realized that Gwaine was sprinting of into the forest, Arthur assumed to look for Merlin._

* * *

All Merlin could do was sit there with Aithusa on his lap cooing at him as they both watched Arthur leave. Merlin was so sure that the young king was going to either drag him back to Camelot to burn him on the pyre or run him through with his sword. So Merlin was pleasantly surprised that the king seemed to just need time to go over everything that he had been told. He didn't know how long he stayed sitting on the ground with Aithusa trying to sooth him. She inadvertently had picked up on his heightened feelings that both he and Arthur were feeling throughout that talk. She must have picked up on how scared he was that his friend would reject him for whom he really was; it seemed for now that Arthur wasn't going to kill him.

Merlin knew that his friend was probably questioning everything the two of them had been through together. All the adventures and quests that they had been on together risking their lives and Merlin had lied to Arthur about using his magic every time. At least the trees will be able to keep their branches instead of having to drop them on hordes of bandits. Using some magic Merlin conjured up a few apples for Aithusa knowing that she deserved every one for helping him tell Arthur. Yes it was probably the wrong time for Arthur to know the truth but now that it was out in the open his secret was no longer eating away at him. Handing the young dragon the apples Merlin sat there trying to gather his thoughts while Aithusa crunched the apples happily.

He didn't know how long he sat there but apparently it was too long for a certain knight. Gwaine came barrelling through the undergrowth with panic written all over the knight's face. As Gwaine spotted Merlin sitting there unharmed he seemed to let out a sigh of relief which confused Merlin. Did Gwaine really think that Arthur would harm him? Arthur probably would have; it was just one of the thoughts Merlin was thinking when Arthur had pulled out his sword. Aithusa's head popped up to look at Gwaine for a few seconds before she saw that he wasn't a threat and returned to finishing off the apples.

"I thought that Arthur had killed you there for a moment." Gwaine said letting out a shaky laugh.

"No I'm still here. So is Aithusa." Merlin replied.

"So I take it that Arthur knows now? How did he take it?" Gwaine asked.

"Oh as well as it could be seeing as I lied to him about a lot of things including Aithusa here." Merlin sighed.

"So the little trouble maker here decided to greet Arthur did she?" Gwaine said nodding to the little white dragon.

"Yes she did. You should have seen Arthurs face when she appeared, it would have you snorting out your ale through your nose. Arthur wasn't the only one that she freaked out; I thought that it was the rest of the bandits returning to finish me off." Merlin sighed.

"It's hard to snort ale when you've run out." Gwaine said.

"Really you've finally run out." Merlin asked surprised.

"Yes." Gwaine grumbled.

"Oh mate I'm so sorry." Merlin teased.

"Not as sorry as Arthur." Gwaine replied avoiding Merlin's eyes.

"Why? What did you do?" Merlin demanded.

"I kind of overreacted when I saw him exiting the forest without you." Gwaine answered.

"And?" Merlin prompted.

"I saw him leave the forest with his sword out but no you so on my way to find you I kind of punched him in the face. I think that I may have bloodied his nose." Gwaine said.

Merlin couldn't help it he burst out laughing at both the look on Gwaine's face and the thought that there was no stopping this knight from getting to his friend even if it is through the king that he swore he would serve. Merlin knew that he was lucky to have such a loyal friend that stands by him even though he is an enemy of Camelot. Knowing that he had magic Gwaine was supposed to have killed him minute that found out, even if they won't in Camelot at the time. The worse thing was that Aithusa should have been dead the second that she was seen. Merlin didn't know how anyone could even think of laying a hand on such an innocent young dragon. Considering the fact that she and Kilgharrah were the last known dragons alive they would be worth a lot to people that would see them turned in to weapons. Kilgharrah wouldn't stand for that but Aithusa was young enough that id they managed to catch her they could break her into a weapon.

Merlin was determined to make sure that that never happened. Maybe now that Arthur knew about her he would give him some time off a week to make sure that she is safe and unharmed. Like that would be the day. Arthur never gave him days off when he saved him it was a fluke that he saved the people and his friend gave him a couple of weeks off as a reward. True he wouldn't have had to save them if he wasn't there as the assassin was after him in the first place. It was nice to have this chance to see his mother; unfortunately he had been with Aithusa most of the time. He hoped that his mother understood this. It felt so long ago since Gwaine found out but it hasn't even been two weeks. In one way he was happy that it was Gwaine that found out first but in another he had hoped that he would have been able to tell Arthur first.

Now came the next problem; what to do with Aithusa. Obviously she was going to keep trying to sneak back to Merlin every time Kilgharrah turned his massive head and he couldn't take her back to the village with him due to fact that she is dragon that technology shouldn't alive and well. The only choice that's available was to call Kilgharrah again to pick her up and hoped that she stayed this time. Merlin would have to try to explain why she had to stay with the older dragon instead of with him. This would be tough on both of them maybe he could persuade Kilgharrah to get an apple tree for her; that would definitely make the young dragon happy. Merlin could almost imagine Kilgharrah's response to his request.' I am not a farmer Merlin'. Merlin snorted at that thought earning a look from Gwaine. Aithusa had finally finished the apples and was back to cooing happily while staring at her human father.

Considering that they were far enough away from the village Merlin decided to call Kilgharrah then and there as the sooner she was safe with the giant dragon the sooner he could see Arthur and the other knights off. Merlin still couldn't believe that Arthur now knows about both his magic and the dragon lord heritage. He wondered what Gaius would do when he found out that Arthur now knew Merlin had magic. Probably hit Merlin on the back of the head and call him a foolish boy. Not that it mattered he was more worried what will happen when he told his mother; now that was a scary thought. Ever since he was old enough to understand he had been told to keep the magic secret for fear that he would have been killed or worse.

"So; I take he now knows about all of your magic and what not?" Gwaine asked.

"Yeah I kind of had to stop him from killing Aithusa when she popped up. Luckily he didn't take the sword to me after that. Plus Aithusa here blurted it out loudly and I took my chance that he wouldn't run me through with his sword the moment that I conformed that what she was saying was true." Merlin explained.

"I hope that he didn't harm either of you; because if he did then I'm tempted to give him more than a bloodied nose." Gwaine said.

"No he didn't he just needs some time to terms with everything. The good thing is that he didn't say that I wasn't welcome in Camelot which means that he hasn't exiled me." Merlin said.

"Look on the bright side I was ban from Camelot but here I am a knight of that very place. so even if he did ban you no doubt he would welcome you back and try and turn you into a knight." Gwaine joked.

"No doubt that he would try but I am terrible with a sword and worse with a mace and axe." Merlin chuckled.

Picking up Aithusa he set her down on the ground before getting to his feet and dusted his clothes off. Knowing that the sooner that he called for Kilgharrah to pick up Aithusa the sooner he could go tell his mother and get the shouting over and done with. Taking a peek at Gwaine he threw his head back and let out his dragon call. Gwaine stumbled back in shock but didn't say anything as they waited for the ancient dragon to appear.

* * *

Parting with Aithusa was rough as the young dragon wished to stay with her dragon lord who hatched her. Giving her a lecture was one of the hardest things that Merlin had to do but he had to make sure that she didn't sneak away from Kilgharrah again. He really didn't want her to end up in the hands if humans. Telling Kilgharrah that he had told Arthur about his magic was easier; all he got from the dragon was a 'So it finally happened then young warlock' and that was the end of it. With the dragons gone he and Gwaine headed back to the village knowing that Arthur and the knights were intending to leave very soon. Exiting the forest they headed straight to the house the king and the knights had been using; Merlin was nervous to see Arthur so soon after revealing his magic to him. Gwaine had noticed his nervousness and said.

"Don't worry Merlin; everything will be alright in the end you'll see."

"How can you be so sure?" Merlin asked.

"He wouldn't have searched for you this last week if he didn't care about you." Gwaine said trying to get Merlin more relaxed, it wasn't helping.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the house to see everything packed up and ready to go. As Gwaine and Merlin chatted to the knights they noticed that Arthur was sitting at the table keeping silent looking everywhere but Merlin; none of the other knights noticed this which Merlin was thankful for. It finally came time for the king and the Knights to leave; each said their goodbyes and mounted their horses. Merlin could feel Arthurs gaze upon him the entire time he wished the king would make up his mind. One moment he was ignoring him the next he would be staring him. As the group rode off the two left behind watched as they disappeared into the distance; now it was time to tell him mother what had happened.

* * *

**AN: Hello you readers out there, another chapter as promised hope you enjoyed it. If so then write me a review as it makes me happy to hear what you all think. Till next week.**

**Mushushy.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 32**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or the BBC. I do however own my knights Sir Richard and Sir Liam, who will be back! **

**Thank you for all the people who reviewed, pressed favourite, followed and just plain read this.**

* * *

_Previously._

_It wasn't long before they arrived at the house to see everything packed up and ready to go. As Gwaine and Merlin chatted to the knights they noticed that Arthur was sitting at the table keeping silent looking everywhere but Merlin; none of the other knights noticed this which Merlin was thankful for. It finally came time for the king and the Knights to leave; each said their goodbyes and mounted their horses. Merlin could feel Arthurs gaze upon him the entire time he wished the king would make up his mind. One moment he was ignoring him the next he would be staring him. As the group rode off the two left behind watched as they disappeared into the distance; now it was time to tell him mother what had happened._

* * *

It turned out telling his mother was both a good idea and a bad one, she reacted exactly like he knew she would, panic. The only reason that she stopped panicking was thanks to some kindly intervention by Liam that made her see sense. Merlin had tried to tell her that Arthur wouldn't come back to harm them even though he now knew that Merlin had magic and was a dragon lord who had hatched another dragon. Of cause when Gwaine mentioned that Aithusa had visited Arthur while Merlin and Arthur was out in the woods together she started to panic again. Merlin had shot Gwaine an annoyed look before telling his mother that Aithusa was in no danger of being killed by Arthur, but in fact he was sure that Aithusa had left a good impression on him instead.

With all the unpleasant news out of the way Merlin started some dinner while his mother kept shooting him worried and concerned looks from across the room. Whether it was for the cooking or about how his secret wasn't much of a secret to one of his best friends, Merlin didn't know, it was probably a little of both. Dinner was a quiet affair where no one had the heart to say anything as soon Merlin and Gwaine would return to Camelot and face Arthur. Although he had a whole other day left before he had to return Merlin and Gwaine would have to leave midday to return to Camelot on time, especially if they didn't want to rush back. Merlin still had questions for his mother about a lot of things, most of which was about his father.

Merlin knew that his mother had known about his father's dragon lord heritage from the start so he was wondering why she had never ever said anything about it in all those years. True one probably wouldn't write it in a letter for fear that the letter would fall into the wrong hands but then why didn't she say anything throughout the years that he had lived in Ealdor or the last time that he had visited. She wasn't the only one that had kept it from him, considering that Gaius had known who his father was then he would have known that Merlin had the potential to become a dragon lord when his father died. Although he had been angry at Gaius when he travelled with Arthur to find his father a couple of years ago, he had forgiven him when he finally met his father. At first his father had disappointed him by refusing to help Camelot rid itself of the dragon. When his father had found them again hope had bloomed in Merlin's chest for the first time since meeting him.

Of cause it had went downhill from there when his father had died saving his life from bandits before he could really tell him about himself and the dragons. It all worked out in the end with Kilgharrah but still there was so much that his father could have taught him about many things. He had hoped that Gaius had known more about his father but the physician refused to say, what he did say was 'just ask your mother' which brought him back to the present problem. How was he supposed to ask her without upsetting her too much?

* * *

As soon as Merlin had said that he needed some time with his mother to talk alone, Gwaine grumbled and left with Liam heading off to the other guy's house to wait. Walking next to the older knight in silence Gwaine wondered what Merlin would be asking his mother, maybe he would be able to ask Liam a few of his own concerning Merlin. sure they had talked a lot when they had been searching the forest for any sign of dragons or Merlin but he still had alt of questions that he could ask without Arthur and the other knights present. That would be a bit awkward, discussing Merlins magic and accidently telling the Knights of Camelot that one of their friends was the most powerful Warlock in the world.

Entering Liam's house Gwaine sat down at the table while Liam raided his stash, bringing out a small barrel. Liam poured out a couple of mugs handing one to Gwaine before sitting down at the table while taking a gulp from his cup. Bringing the cup up to his mouth Gwaine to a sip, upon realizing that the cup contained mead he took a bigger drink. After having run out of his own a couple of days ago this was pure heaven right in his hands. It wasn't long until they had finished their mug and were on a second while they waited for Merlin to come and get them after his talk, but hey that suited Gwaine just fine as there was still more mead to drink here.

Half way through drinking the second drink the front door to the house burst open revealing the bully from a couple of days ago. Gwaine's blood lust increased as the boy strutted further into the house, oh what Gwaine wouldn't do to have five minutes alone with the boy and a sword in his hand. Gwaine was surprised when Arthur hadn't stabbed the boy with his sword when he had insulted Merlin and the knights, true it was probably due to the interference by the rest if the knights but Gwaine had a hard time letting go of his anger. Not that he would do anything to the boy as he wouldn't want to harm Liam; it wasn't his fault that he had a bully for a son. James seemed to spot Gwaine sitting there and threw him a dirty look as he continued to strut to the room in the back of the house slamming the door behind him.

"I really don't know how that boy can be mine." Liam sighed running his hands through his hair.

"I can't understand either." Gwaine agreed. "He's such a bully, how long's he been like this?"

"Ever since he was young; unfortunately he's a few years older than Merlin who seemed to be the most people he picked on. I tried to stop it as much as possible but he would sneak of as soon as my back was turned. Luckily it almost stoped when young William and his mother came to village, there were still a few incidents that my son had instigated, which was why I decided to move us to another village, to try and get this type of behaviour out of him. I had hoped that if he saw that there were other bigger and stronger people out there then he would stop picking on people. But no it just seemed to make it worse as he just joined a gang and ended up becoming its leader. So I had no choice but to pack up again and return here. At least I managed to separate him from the violence."

"If it makes you feel any better I think that you did the right thing." Gwaine said sympathetically.

"Thanks, so how about another cup?" Liam asked waving his hand at the barrel.

"Sure you know the first time I met Merlin it was in a tavern?" Gwaine chuckled at the memory.

"Really? That would be the least likely place I would have thought that you would have met him. You sure, as I know that you enjoy a mug or two but Merlin? Normally he would have kept far away from taverns." Liam said handing Gwaine a full mug of mead.

"Well what I could figure out I think that the idea of actually going to the tavern was Arthur's and Merlin just followed. That said they managed to get into trouble and started a tavern brawl, which I helped them win. Unfortunately I took a knife to the thigh and passed out, but when I did regain conciseness I found out that I was in Camelot being cared for by Merlin. Oh got into another fight with a bunch of nobles and was banished from Camelot by Arthur's father." Gwaine explained.

"Uther!" Liam spat.

"Yes, Uther was the king, but Arthur makes a far better one. He's fairer sometimes he can be a prat, but what I can tell since Merlin came into his life he changed for the better." Gwaine told him.

"Good, I'm glad that Arthur's not his father."

"Have a little hatred for Uther there?" Gwaine inquired.

"You can say that. _King_ Uther refused my friend help when he needed it the most and then he if that wasn't enough he then hunted my friend down, forced him to leave his family behind." Liam answered.

Gwaine considered asking if it was Balinor that Liam was talking about but he didn't know if James was listening in from the other room. He really didn't want to give away his best friends secret to his childhood bully, which was just asking for trouble. If there was one thing that his friend didn't need was more trouble, if he could he would try to spare his friend from getting into trouble, it was one of the reasons that he had agreed to accompany Merlin in the first place. So much had changed since starting out from Camelot those few weeks ago, first he finds out the sorcerer was after him, he had magic, was a dragon lord and that he had a baby dragon that he had hatched.

Gwaine had wondered if Gaius had known all about this, but considering that Merlin lived with the physician there was no way that the old man didn't know about Merlin's ability. He was going to ask him as soon as he returned home; no doubt that Arthur was thinking the same thing. As Gwaine and Liam waited for Merlin and his mother to finish they continued to chat and drinking the mead. James had left without a word leaving the two to be able to talk about more sensible subjects; Gwaine still couldn't believe that James was actually related to Liam, they really were polar opiates. The thought was wiped from his mind as there was a knock at the door, Merlin opened it and walked in with a frown crossing his face, instantly Gwaine knew that there was something on his friends mind and he was going to find out what.

* * *

**AN: Hello to all my readers out there! I'm sorry that I didn't update yesterday but the chapter wasn't finished as I have been distracted by so many birthday celebrations. Many my father's so hence why I didn't update on time. On a really happy note it's only two months till I'm in Rome! But enough talking I shall see you guy's next week, don't forget to review!**

**Mushushy.**


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